


Can't Go Home Again

by CPD5021George



Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:15:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 21,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28403850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CPD5021George/pseuds/CPD5021George
Summary: Hailey has been a bit off recently, Jay Halstead noticed. He decides to find out what's bothering her. She will need her partner's help and support to get through their latest case, which forces her to face old demons
Relationships: Jay Halstead & Hailey Upton
Comments: 6
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's time to dig a bit into Hailey's family history, therefore I started writing this story. At the beginning it was a bit difficult, and I wasn't sure if it would work. Several weeks later I'm in the flow now and decided to start publishing this story.   
> Thanks for your continuous support, it means a lot

Chapter 1

Jay Halstead looked across his desk, his eyes rested on Hailey Upton, his partner. Hailey was staring into space, didn't even notice that he was watching her. This happened a lot recently, but Jay didn't know what was going on.   
Actually, it had started out of the blue some two weeks ago. Suddenly Hailey seemed sad, seemed to be thinking hard about something, while she always tried to hide it from him. Exactly that was unusual. By now Jay had been sure they had a special connection, and whenever one had a problem, they would talk this through, find a solution together. Not this time, though. Sure, he had asked Hailey, but she had always brushed him off, told him everything was fine, she was simply in a strange mood, “female-stuff” she called it. Jay didn't believe her, yet he didn't want to push her too hard. She was a lot like him in this respect, as soon as she felt under too much pressure, she would shut him out completely. Therefore Jay was cautious. He was there, talking or not, made sure to have her back, watched out for her. And that was it.   
He was worried, more than a little worried, however. Jay being Jay, he was worried that her strange mood had something to do with him. Was there anything going on that concerned him? Anything she was afraid to tell him? Or had he done anything wrong? Not that he could think of anything, but that didn't mean he hadn't. And if it had nothing to do with him, it must be something serious, something important. Something she couldn't handle herself but refused to let him in. That was definitely not good. 

Right now he was watching her. Hailey looked sad, serious, troubled, her thoughts miles away.   
A split-second before Voight entered the office and Hailey snapped out of her thoughts, Jay looked away, focused on the image on his computer screen once again. Usually they would share a quick smile from time to time, but Hailey was lost in thoughts, that she didn't notice the quick soft smile he gave her when Voight started talking and all turned towards their sergeant.   
Yes, something was off, and he had to find out what it was. Two weeks of this were long enough, he needed to do something.   
Not right now, though, because the current case required all their attention.  
Her work didn't suffer from whatever it was that was going on, she was too much of a pro for that. They still worked like the well-oiled machine their partnership was, just like they always did. No unnecessary words, looks were enough for one to know what the other was thinking, was doing. As soon as she could work on the case, she was almost her usual self, with only a slight shadow of darkness nobody but Jay would notice. 

“Want to grab a beer?” Jay asked, when the shift was over, in another attempt to get through to her.   
Hailey gave him a soft yet apologetic smile. “No, Jay,” she declined his offer. “Not tonight, I'm tired. Don't be mad, okay?”  
Jay nodded. “Sure, why would I be mad at you?” He tentatively touched her shoulder. “You know you can talk to me, don't you?”  
“I know, Jay. See you tomorrow.” With that she turned around and walked down the stairs of the 21st precinct to the parking lot, to her car.  
Jay watched her leave, and as soon as she was out of sight, he rushed to his own truck and started it. He knew that if he wanted to follow her, he would have to be very careful. Chances were she would spot him within a few seconds. Technically he could put a tracker on her car or ping her phone, but he refused to do that. That would mean breaking her trust so badly, and unless he thought she was in acute danger it was not an option. Following her was bad enough, but Jay had to know what was going on.   
When Jay left the parking lot, he saw Hailey's car turn around a corner, and slowly he followed her, turned around the same corner, saw Hailey's car in the distance, with several cars between them. Briefly the thought crossed his mind that he should have taken a pool car, so that Hailey wouldn't spot him easily, as she knew his truck so well. But then again – that would be kind of creepy. And perhaps, perhaps it wasn't even bad if she saw that he followed her. How embarrassing would it be – Jay thought – if he found out she'd go on a date. No, he surely didn't want to think about that. That would be one of his least favorite options. Even the thought of Hailey going on a date with another guy caused a sharp sting of jealousy.

The streets were crowded, so it took all of his concentration not to lose track of Hailey, as they were driving up north, further away from Hailey's place. Finally after more than 40 minutes they arrived in a residential area in Lake Forest, and Jay watched Hailey stop her car. He barely managed to turn into a side street, park his truck behind some shrubs, where he would be able to see what Haile was doing, where she would go.  
Much to Jay's surprise, however, nothing happened. Hailey had stopped the car, but didn't get out. He was too far away to see what she was doing, which house she might be watching. All he could see was that her car was parked there, and she was still sitting behind the wheel.  
It was a good part of town, very nice houses, large front lawns, everything well-kept, clean. Not a lot of people outside.   
Now what?   
Was she observing someone? Or was she waiting for someone to meet her? Jay quickly checked his laptop, checked if anything suspicious popped up for this area. Any recent crimes, burglaries, assaults, anything. But he found nothing.  
These few seconds when he took his eyes off her car were enough, though; when he looked up again, her car was gone. Dammit.  
And if that wasn't enough, suddenly someone knocked on his truck's window. Jay flinched, and when he looked up, he looked right into Hailey's blue eyes. Great!  
He lowered the window.  
“You following me?” she asked.  
When exactly had that become one of their standard lines?  
Jay looked at Hailey apologetically and shrugged. “Yeah.” He scrunched his nose in a subconscious attempt to make her smile.  
Hailey opened the passenger door, slipped into the truck.   
“Do you care to explain?” she asked, her tone softer than the words alone might suggest.  
“Hailey,” Jay said, paused. “Hailey, something's not right. Let me help you, whatever it is.”  
Hailey looked into his face, saw that there was nothing but worries, she slowly nodded and sighed softly, while making a decision. “Okay then. My place?”  
“Yes, I'll be there,” Jay hurried to answer, relief washing over him. She wasn't mad at him. And perhaps she would explain what was going on now and allowed him to help.  
She returned to her own car, and now Jay openly followed her to her place across town.

Without a further word, both entered Hailey's house, Jay went right into the kitchen, grabbed two glasses, while Hailey took a bottle of whiskey from a cupboard. Both sat down in their usual spots at her kitchen table. Slowly Hailey poured each of them a generous drink, briefly smiling at the familiarity of these gestures.   
Hailey took a sip, stared into her glass, while Jay was watching her, a soft, encouraging look on his face. Finally she put her glass down, gave him another quick smile.  
“I should be angry, you know that?” she said.  
“Why? Because I followed you?”  
“Exactly,” she confirmed. “I told you everything's fine. You should trust me.”  
“Hailey, I do trust you, you know that,” Jay answered quietly. “But I can see that not everything is fine. And I want to help. Whatever it is.”  
“Yeah, I know,” she answered.   
Jay noticed that she swallowed hard, even seemed to fight back tears. He put a hand on hers.   
“You're not alone, Hailey.”  
She swallowed back her tears, smiled at him weakly. “I know, Jay. Thank you. It's just difficult... personal.”  
Jay didn't reply, just remained in his place, his fingers softly caressing hers. He was here now, and she would eventually start talking.   
After taking a deep breath, another tiny sip of whiskey, Hailey started talking.  
“Jay, it's difficult, because it's about my family,” she began. “And I have no idea what to do.”  
Jay nodded.  
“My family's in trouble,” she continued. “You know they have a restaurant, don't you?”  
“Yes, I remember.”  
“Well, it still belongs to my dad, but my brother, Danny, technically manages the restaurant. Of course my dad can't keep out of it. And... well, such an old story really... someone's demanding protection money. First there were threats, and when dad refused, they beat him up badly. Danny called me two weeks ago when it all started.”  
“Okay,” Jay said. Two weeks ago, that was exactly when Hailey had started behaving strangely. “What did you do?”  
“Nothing,” Hailey explained. “I briefly talked to Danny, but even though he called me, he's worried that if they call the cops, things will get worse. The usual threats. And then they attacked my dad.”  
“Is that why you drove to Lake Forest?”  
“Yeah,” she confirmed. “He called this morning, and I... I thought I'd talk to my mom and my brother, but... I... I couldn't convince myself to knock on that door.”  
“I see,” Jay looked at her intensely. “Is that why you're so sad?”  
She sighed. “My dad is in a bad state. And... well, the thing is, I don't know what to do. I want to help Danny, the family, but... I stopped talking to my dad years ago. You know why.”  
Yes, Jay knew. Her father was a bully, a wife-beater, if not more. Jay didn't even want to imagine what he might have done to Hailey when she was little.   
“Jay, part of me wants to go and visit him in the hospital, but another – louder – part cannot do that. And I cannot make myself talk to my mom right now. Talking to Danny is bad enough, as he blames me for being out of touch for so long.” Hailey put her hand on her forehead, leaned against it. “I feel like a bad daughter, a bad sister. But there were so many terrible things going on when I was a kid...”  
Jay understood. He had had a difficult relationship with his father too, hadn't handled his father's death well at all, or the time before. It was different from what Hailey had gone through, but his past had made him more compassionate, and all he wanted to do was help Hailey. Hailey, who had always been there for him, even in his darkest times.   
“I stopped talking to my family when I went undercover – Booth, the first time,” Hailey continued. Once started, she couldn't stop. “Well, on some rare occasions I talked to mom or to Danny, never to Mark and his family. And never, literally never to my dad. I hate him for what he did to my mom and to us. And still – he wasn't always bad, and there's still this little girl inside that loves her dad, that adores him, because at times he was fun, I feel so guilty for shutting him out. And I cannot bring these two sides together, Jay.”


	2. Chapter 2

They talked for a long time. Hailey was relieved that she had let Jay in. And Jay was relieved that she did, that she let him help her.  
“You know, I still can hardly believe that you didn't do anything about the whole thing,” Jay said when the conversation became a bit more upbeat. “That's so not you.”  
Hailey made a face, wrinkled her nose. “Well... Not exactly nothing.”  
“I knew it,” Jay laughed. “Tell me, what did you do?”  
“I asked around, checked with my only CI in that area. But found out nothing so far. Mind you, I only did it after shift.”  
The last few weeks their shifts had been long.  
“And you found nothing?”  
“Not a bit,” Hailey replied and shook her head. “It would help if Danny gave me some info, but he flat out refused. He's scared – and I assume still angry with me.”  
“Don't you think we should involve the unit?” Jay asked. “Voight wouldn't mind, you know that. If it's family, it's always a priority to him.”  
“I know, Jay, but...”  
Jay nodded. Sure, that would mean she had to explain her family's situation, all her issues, to the whole team. He knew she didn't want that. She preferred to keep personal stuff personal.  
“Fine, so what do we do?” he asked.  
“We?”  
Jay shrugged and raised his eyebrows.  
“Thanks, Jay,” she whispered.  
Jay smiled at her. “Always, you know that.”  
Hailey felt Jay's eyes on her, suddenly wanted to escape the situation. This was getting too intimate. “By the way, do you really think I didn't see you following me?” she asked in a halfhearted attempt to joke.  
Jay went with it, he rolled his eyes, then laughed. “So I should have taken another car.”  
“Don't worry, it's fine. I have to admit I'm kind of glad you did.”  
“Good. So, want to start?”  
“Sure, it's still early.”  
“Want to give me all the details? What happened when, where? The whole story so far?”  
“Right, let me gather my thoughts,” Hailey stood up, and noticed that his hand was still on top of hers. Reluctantly she pulled her hand away. It had been a good feeling, comforting, encouraging.  
She took a notebook out of a drawer, put it on a table.  
“I made notes,” she explained, all business as soon as she opened the notebook, browsed through the pages full of handwritten notes. “Here it starts. Two weeks ago, that Saturday at closing time, two people entered my parents' restaurant, Danny said. White, one in his twenties, one a bit older, I've got a more detailed description here. They talked to my dad, who had just said good-bye to the last guests, said something about this being a nice place, he should take care that it stays like that. You know the drill. Danny overheard and then joined them, right when the older one said they should make sure to follow their orders. Well, Danny kicked them out, called me the next day. The guys came back, this time with the clear threat and a demand. They were loud, a group of patrons noticed, it was uncomfortable. Danny kicked them out again, and the result is that last night they waited for my dad when he closed up the restaurant and attacked him. He's in hospital now. From what Danny said, he refused to press charges, and he didn't tell Danny anything. So, we can only assume it's the same two guys, or perhaps someone from their gang.”  
“Sounds like a straight-forward investigation,” Jay said. “Check with businesses and restaurants in the area, see if they also were threatened, attacked. Then surveillance of the area, looking for new gangs, talk out on the streets, all that.” He stopped, looked at Hailey. “But that's not the problem, right?”  
“Right,” she slowly said. “First, Danny doesn't want me to investigate officially.”  
“Well, he can't tell me what to do. But...?”  
“I guess I need to talk to my dad...”  
Jay stayed silent, just looked at her.  
“Jay, what do I do?”  
“We'll figure something out, Hailey,” Jay answered. 

The next morning Jay was in the office early, as he wanted to see Voight before anyone else would arrive.  
“Sarge, can I talk to you?” Jay asked, as Voight looked up from his desk. When he nodded, Jay entered Voight's office and closed the door.  
“What is it, Jay?”  
“Sarge, we need to do some investigating off the books.”  
“You and Hailey?”  
“Yes, Hailey and I.”  
“What about?”  
“I'd rather not tell,” Jay answered. “I don't want to break Hailey's trust.”  
“So it has to do with her being distant for the last two weeks?” Voight said it as if it was the most normal thing in the world.  
“Yes, Sarge.”  
“Okay,” Voight agreed without hesitation. “But be careful, and if anything comes up, keep me posted. I'm trusting you here, Jay.”  
“Thanks, Sarge.”

When Jay left Voight's office, Hailey was just coming up the stairs. She looked at him inquiringly.  
Jay went into the break room, poured them some coffee, and Hailey was standing next to him within seconds.  
“You talked to Voight?”  
“I only said we needed to do some off-the-book investigation,” Jay answered calmly. “He's fine with it.”  
“But I didn't want him to know...”  
Jay shook his head, handed Hailey a mug with hot coffee. “I didn't tell him anything. He knew something's not right, and for the moment that's all he knows. We should make sure not to cause any trouble, I guess.” He grinned at her. “How are you?”  
“Better,” Hailey couldn't help but smile back at him, her initial doubts removed. “Thanks, Jay. For everything.”

“So where do we start?” she asked when they were returning to their desks.  
“Let's have a look at what businesses are in the area, and then go out and ask around cautiously. Are there any businesses or people you still know? Where do you want to look first?”  
“A lot has changed,” Hailey answered, looking at the satellite image of the area. Restaurants, fast food joints and shops were scattered across several blocks, the Upton family restaurant being right in the center.  
“I remember this one,” Hailey pointed at a house. “It's a Spanish restaurant, the name hasn't changed, so perhaps the owners are still the same, and they are willing to talk to me.”  
“You think the restaurant is open already?”  
“Well, there is a lot of work to do before they open officially, so someone's probably there. Let's go.”  
They grabbed their jackets and hurried down the stairs, not answering to the questioning looks of their colleagues. 

When they arrived at “La Bodega”, Hailey immediately approached the house from the backside, still remembering the back entrance. She knocked on the door, and an older man opened the door.  
“Hailey Upton,” he said after a second of trying to recognize her. “Haven't seen you around for a while.”  
“Glad to see you, Mr. Ramirez,” Hailey answered. “Glad to be back in the neighborhood.”  
“What can I do for you and your friend?”  
“Mr. Ramirez, I'm Jay Halstead, Hailey's partner,” Jay introduced himself.  
“Pablo Ramirez, nice to meet you.”  
“Could we talk to you for a minute, Mr. Ramirez?” Jay asked politely, deliberately not showing his badge.  
“Sure, come in.” He stepped aside and let Jay and Hailey enter the back room of his restaurant. “And it's Pablo.”  
When Jay had closed the door behind them, he followed both into what looked like a break room with a few chairs and a table. The radio was playing music from the 1960s.  
“So? Can I offer you a drink?”  
“No, thank you,” Hailey said as she sat down. “Pablo, this is a bit tricky, but we need your help.”  
The older man took a seat on the other side of the table, facing them. “Is it about what happened to your father?”  
“In a way.” This was more difficult than Hailey had expected.  
Jay nodded briefly and continued. “Pablo, you know Hailey's father was attacked, right?” He didn't wait for an answer, as he already saw that Pablo Ramirez tried hard not to show much of a reaction.  
“Hailey's brother said they are being blackmailed, someone demands protection money,” Jay continued calmly. “And we figured they might not be the only ones in the neighborhood. Now, I know this is dangerous, and I know that the victims were told not to involve the police. So I don't expect you to tell us this has happened to you too. But if you know anything that could help us find the people that attached Hailey's father, or could give us an idea where to look, that would be amazing.”  
It was obvious that Pablo Ramirez wasn't comfortable with the situation. To Jay it was clear he was being blackmailed too – or at least approached by the same people.  
“Pablo, please,” Hailey added. “We want to help.”  
“What did your brother tell you?”  
“Not much,” Hailey answered. “And he didn't want me to interfere, as he said.”  
“Then why are you here?”  
“Because we are the police,” Jay answered on Hailey's behalf. “And we can't just watch and let this happen. We can help.”  
“I don't know,” Pablo was still in doubt.  
“Please, Pablo,” Hailey insisted, looking at the older man intensely. “Let us help. We can put these guys behind bars and you can all go back to your business without being harassed or losing money.”  
Pablo sighed audibly. “There are new people in the neighborhood,” he started reluctantly. “Young guys, mostly in their 20s, some a bit older. They visit everyone. It started three weeks ago. So far nothing much has happened. Your father being attacked was the first incident, Hailey.”  
“Anything else you can tell us about these guys?” Jay asked politely yet insistently. “What do the other business owners say? I'm sure you talked about it.”  
“We didn't talk much. It's mostly just hints, knowing it happened to others too. From what I know it's a small group, I've seen four or five different guys walk around here that look suspicious. No names. From looks they could be Southern European, but that's difficult to tell.”  
“A new gang?” Hailey muttered.  
“Mob?” Jay said. “Anything else?”  
Pablo shook his head. “I already said too much.”  
“And we are thankful for that,” Hailey said. “Pablo, be careful, okay? And if there's anything you want to talk about, or if you ever need help, here's my number.”  
Hailey and Jay got up, ready to leave, when Pablo held them back.  
“Wait. Let me give you some food, so if anyone's watching, they think you came here for that.”  
Jay and Hailey grinned appreciatively as they were following him back to the kitchen.  
“You're quite the undercover detective yourself,” Hailey smiled at Pablo. “Good thinking.”  
Pablo took a food container and put selected cold tapas into it, wrapped it up and handed it to Hailey. “Enjoy.”  
“Thank you so much,” Jay said. “That's really kind of you, it looks delicious.”  
“See it as a thank you,” Pablo replied. “I hope your father recovers quickly, Hailey. And this is over soon.”


	3. Chapter 3

“That went considerably well,” Jay said when they returned to his truck. “And we got lunch.”  
Hailey laughed. “Yeah, and believe me, this is as good as it looks.”  
“So, what do we have? Southern European looking guys in their twenties are trying to intimidate people in this neighborhood. Do we have anything in the gang database?”   
“Let me check,” Hailey took out her laptop, opened the database. “No, still nothing conclusive. And Southern European doesn't narrow it down much. It could be Bulgarians, Croatians, even the Outfit. Or a new group all together.”  
“Any Greek gangs you are aware of?” Jay joked.  
Hailey playfully punched his arm. “Careful, buddy.”  
Jay just laughed.   
“We have to dig deeper,” Hailey concluded. “Check with CI's, watch the area.”  
“We could ask Voight about the Outfit?” Jay suggested.  
“If nothing else gives us any results, we can do that.”  
Before they could agree on what else to do, Hailey's personal phone rang. When she looked at it, she sighed.   
“My brother,” she explained, then answered the call.  
“Danny?”  
Jay watched as she listened to her brother on the other end. She didn't look happy, didn't say much at first, only listened.   
“Danny, we must do something,” she finally answered. “And you know that, otherwise you wouldn't have called me in the first place.”  
Jay heard Hailey's brother's voice on the other end but didn't understand what he said.   
“I'll see, Danny,” Hailey said. “Not sure. I'll let you know.”  
With that she ended the call.  
“Not happy?” Jay asked.  
“Pablo called Danny right after we left,” Hailey explained.   
“Right.”  
“Danny's angry, and probably worried. Worried that they will find out we're involved.”  
“I see,” Jay said. “Could be expected, I guess. And that's all?” He looked at her inquisitively.  
Hailey smiled weakly. “No.”  
“Anything you want to share?”  
“My dad,” Hailey reluctantly started. Now that she had let Jay in, she felt like she owed him honesty. “Danny keeps asking when I'll visit. It seems that he's not well at all.”  
“Will you?”  
“Jay, I wish I knew,” she answered. “I really don't know. I mean, what would you do? After all that happened, all that he did.”  
Jay nodded and answered slowly, thoughtfully. “No idea what I'd do. I mean, I blew it the last time I talked to my dad, so... Do you want to see your mother, your brother? Do you think it would help them? If you saw your dad? Take your time to think this through. And I'm here to listen and to come with you, you know that.”  
“Yes, I do,” Hailey smiled at him. “Thanks.”

They drove a bit further away, got a coffee and settled in the truck for a short lunch break. The tapas were just as good as expected, and for a while they just ate them and had their coffee, without talking.  
“We could contact our CI's and see if they can give us some information or find out something,” Jay suggested after he had finished his coffee. “Or we go back to the office, check out CCTV in the area. I wouldn't recommend asking the local businesses for their camera footage just now. Too conspicuous.”  
“Right,” Hailey agreed. “I guess while we're here, let's call CI's in the area, perhaps one or two of them are available to meet. And after that back to 21st. Do you know how long Voight will let us run without asking what this is all about?”  
Jay shrugged. “Hard to say. I can talk to him again later today, fill him in on some basics. No details of course. Nothing you don't want me to say.”

It turned out that one of Jay's CI's from Highland Park was in the vicinity, so Jay arranged meeting with her immediately. This CI was a young woman that Jay had arrested for a drug-related incident, which was basically caused by her ex-boyfriend, who had his fingers in organized crime. Perhaps that was an angle. Even though Janie had no more contact to this guy, perhaps she could find out something.  
She awaited Jay in a park, where she was taking a walk with her dog. Hailey stayed behind, going through data on her laptop in the meantime. 

When Jay returned to the car, she couldn't decipher if he looked content or frustrated. She raised her eyebrows.  
“Not much,” Jay answered her unspoken question. “Janie doesn't know of any new gangs up here, but she promised to ask around. Best she can do.”  
“You trust her?”  
“Well, as much as you can trust a CI you've only known for a year, but usually she's helpful. Still has contacts to some of her ex's friends.”  
“So we wait.”  
“And investigate further,” Jay agreed.   
They decided to drive along the streets of Lake Forest again, check for cameras that didn't belong to the businesses and restaurants, traffic cameras and general CCTV, so they would be able to get a look without alarming the possible offenders.   
Back in the office they had enough things to review, and since the rest of the team including Voight were out, there was nobody asking questions. Only Trudy Platt looked a bit surprised and curious when the two of them arrived back in 21st,, but she knew better than asking questions Jay and Hailey wouldn't answer.   
The two of them sat down at their desks and went to work, and time passed quickly. When they heard noise on the stairs, they noticed that they had worked for three hours without talking much.   
“Hey, there you are,” Adam greeted them. “We already thought you went AWOL.”  
“Special assignment,” Jay said, sharing a brief smile with Hailey.   
“Can we help?” Kim asked.  
“No, thanks,” Hailey replied with a big smile, trying not to sound too defensive. “It's fine. Hopefully in a few days we're back to doing normal business.”  
“Jay?” Voight interrupted. “Got a minute?”  
With another quick look in Hailey's direction, Jay followed his boss, closed the door behind him.  
“So, anything you want to tell me?” Voight got straight to the point.  
“Sarge,” Jay slowly answered. “I can't...”  
“Jay, all I want to know is if there's anything I can do to help,” Voight explained. “I told you this morning that I trust you in this. For the moment. Make sure you don't run into trouble.”  
“I'm being careful,” Jay assured his boss. “In fact we might need your help, I'll let you know tomorrow. Could be that we stumbled into something bigger.”  
Voight nodded. “Be careful. How's Hailey?”  
“Okay,” Jay answered. “A few things to think about, but we'll get there.”  
“Good.”

“Want to have dinner?” Hailey asked Jay when they were on their way to the parking lot.   
Jay was positively surprised by her offer and accepted immediately. “Sure, where and when?”  
“Want to come over? I'll cook.”  
“I'd love that.” That was an offer Jay wouldn't refuse. She had cooked for them before, not very often, but when she did, it was delicious. Also, they would be alone, had a chance to talk.   
The day had been busy, and Hailey had been better than the days before, but perhaps when she had time to rest, her worries would resurface, since her most pressing problem was still there. And Jay wanted to be there if that happened, wanted to help Hailey.  
Therefore he hurried on the way home, took a quick shower, and was on his way again. 

When Hailey opened the door, she was dressed in sweats, and Jay immediately saw that something had happened. She looked worried, sad, as if she had cried. Quickly Jay entered her house, followed Hailey into the kitchen. Nothing on the stove, she hadn't started cooking yet. Another sign that something wasn't right.   
“What's going on?” Jay asked softly.  
Hailey leaned against the wall, looked down. Jay put a comforting hand on her shoulder, waited. He wanted to pull her into an embrace, comfort her, whatever it was that was bothering her, but he wasn't sure if that was what she'd want.   
Hailey shook her head slowly. “My dad,” she whispered. “He's got internal bleedings. It's not looking good at all.”  
Jay looked at her intensely, waiting for her to continue talking.   
“Danny is angry that I haven't visited. But I don't know if I feel up to it. I just don't know.”  
She looked up, into Jay's face. “Jay, what do I do?”  
“What about your mom?” he asked cautiously.   
“I should go and see her, I guess,” Hailey answered meekly. There were so many conflicting feelings. Yes, she loved her mother, and yes, of course she wanted to help her. But Hailey also subconsciously resented her for staying with her dad, for allowing to be assaulted. She knew how wrong these feelings were, how difficult her mom's situation had been all the time, but she couldn't help herself. These feelings mirrored in her face, and in the end she made a decision. “I will go and see her. Right now, before I change my mind.”  
“Want me to come?” Jay asked.   
“You would do that?”  
“Of course, Hailey,” he replied. “I mean, you still owe me dinner, we can grab some afterwards.”   
“Well, perhaps...”  
“Is your mom in the hospital or at home?”  
“At home,” Hailey said. “Which makes it easier, I guess.” She sighed audibly, then bit her lip. Jay saw that she was fighting back tears. Without thinking any further about it, he pulled her into a hug. She didn't resist, but instead leaned against him, buried her head in his chest. She didn't even notice that she started crying, that she finally let it out. Jay just held her tight, thankful that she let him comfort her. After a while he felt how the tension left her body, her crying stopped. She lifted her head, looked into Jay's soft green eyes, grateful.  
“Guess I should change then,” she tried to joke.  
“Not for me,” Jay replied with a soft smile. “But I guess your mom would appreciate.”  
She squeezed him tight before reluctantly breaking their hug. “Thank you, Jay.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here's the next chapter of this story, which took a slightly different direction from what I had originally planned. Still, I hope you like it - and thank you once again for all your support

Half an hour later they were driving to Lake Forest in Jay's truck. Hailey was thankful she didn't have to do this alone, but also felt slightly ridiculous. Why was it so difficult to see her mother? She loved her mother, she shouldn't feel afraid to see her, even though it had been a long time, too long. Still, she wasn't sure if she'd do this on her own. With Jay by her side, though, all things were easier. Knowing he'd be there with her, having her back, made everything so much easier, better.   
She had decided not to call in advance, so nobody was expecting them when Hailey finally rang the doorbell of her parent's house – her childhood home. Her knees were weak, and her body and mind yelled at her to turn around and run away when the doorbell wasn't answered immediately. But she knew that would be wrong, and with Jay by her side she would manage.   
She rang the doorbell again, and finally she heard some noise, saw someone turn on the light in the hallway. She breathed in heavily, stood straight.   
The door opened and Jay saw an tiny older woman standing before him. There was a certain resemblance to Hailey, but the woman had dark gray hair and her demeanor showed a lot less of the strength that was Hailey, that he admired about Hailey.   
“Hailey?” the woman said.  
“Yes mom,” Hailey answered quietly, suddenly feeling 10 years old again.   
“Come in, Hailey.” She turned to Jay, “And you too, of course.”  
“That's Jay, my partner,” Hailey explained, as both slowly followed her mother into the large living room. It looked cozy, warm, too big for just one person.   
“Mom,” Hailey held her back when she wanted to sit down. “Mom, I'm sorry.”   
She nodded, turned to Jay. “Hailey's partner?”  
“Yes, mam,” Jay answered, extended his hand. “Detective Jay Halstead. Hailey's partner and friend.”  
“Maria Upton,” she took Jay's hand. “You're here because of the blackmailing?”  
“Danny called,” Hailey said. “He told me about it, but didn't want us to investigate. Mom, how's dad? And how are you?”  
Maria Upton shrugged. “I'm fine, Hailey. But your father... it's serious. Sit down, I'll make coffee.”  
“Mom, you don't need to...”  
“Sit down,” Maria insisted, and both obliged as she vanished into the kitchen. Perhaps she also needed a few minutes to compose herself. Jay sat down close to Hailey, but stopped himself from putting a hand on hers. He didn't want her mother to get the wrong impression. And Hailey, she knew he was right here, supporting her. When Maria returned with a tray holding three cups and a coffee pot, Jay stood up and helped her with it. She smiled at him.   
“So, how are you?” Maria asked. “What have you been up to, Hailey?”  
“Work mostly,” Hailey replied defensively. “Since I've been with Intelligence, work is all that happens. Getting up early, go to work, come home late. Even on weekends. That's it.”  
“That's why you don't come anymore?”  
“Mom, I'm sorry,” Hailey said weakly. “I know I should at least have called. I'm sorry. How are you?”  
“Fine, I guess. Just like always. Danny's moved out a few years ago, so now it's just your dad and me. Will you visit him in hospital? You know he's not well. And he'd love to see you.”  
Hailey shrugged, clearly uncomfortable, so Jay stepped in.  
“Ms. Upton,” he started.  
“Maria.”  
“Maria,” Jay smiled. “Can you tell us more of what happened? We need to find the men who did this. Did you see them?”  
“I wasn't there when it happened. Didn't Danny tell you that?”  
“Danny said they came twice, first threatening him and dad, and then the second time they attacked dad.”  
“Your father didn't tell me about it,” Maria said. “Danny told me everything when your father was taken to the hospital. You know he always keeps stuff like that from me.”  
“I know,” Hailey agreed reluctantly. “Mom, we will investigate, whatever Danny says. So if there's anything you know...”  
“Hailey, Danny probably told you more than he told me. All I know is that he insisted on not involving the police, so are you sure?”  
“Of course, mom.”  
“You've always been strong and stubborn,” Maria said with a sigh. “But perhaps you're right. Just promise me to visit your father soon. Promise me, please.”  
Hailey looked down, she didn't know what to say. Did she want to see her father? She felt that she had to, but there were so many bad feelings.  
“Finding these men has priority, Maria,” Jay changed the subject quickly. “And don't worry, we will be discreet. Nobody will suspect that you or Danny called us. Believe me, it's never a good idea to keep the police out of these things. Unless we stop these criminals they will push more and more, demand more and more money, and more people will be attacked and seriously hurt.”

Just an hour later Jay and Hailey were back in Jay's truck, and Hailey relaxed. This hadn't been too bad. She hadn't made any promises, even though her mother had asked again if she'd visit her father in hospital. They had talked a while, Hailey had told her mother a bit about her job; her mother had told her about the family, the grandchildren, both treading lightly around the other. In the end Hailey was relieved that she had taken the first step, that she now had contact with her mother again. Everything else would fall into place eventually – or so she hoped. She had no idea how to deal with her father, however.

Back home at Hailey's place, with pizza from their favorite pizza place, both sat down in the kitchen, with the food and a beer. Jay didn't even ask if she wanted him to stay, he was simply there. And Hailey was thankful for that. It was clear that he stayed to make sure she was okay, that he wanted to be available if she wanted to talk – but wouldn't push her. That was Jay, he would always be there for her, without asking anything in return.

The next day in the office, both started digging in to CCTV footage, checked with other CI's, looked up information in the various police databases – the usual straight-forward investigation. Voight was in his office, the rest of the team was out, working on another case.  
“Hailey, we should include Voight in the whole thing,” Jay whispered. He had noticed that their sergeant had given them inquisitive stares when he saw them at their desks.  
“I don't know, Jay,” Hailey was still indecisive. “I don't want to break my brother's trust again.”  
“He's been quite patient,” Jay replied. “But I'm not sure how long this will last. And he can help. Please, think about it.”   
Hailey nodded and concentrated on her screen again. She had found something. “Jay, come over here. Look at this!”  
Immediately Jay rolled his chair over to Hailey, looked at her screen too. She pointed at the image of a car in Lake Forest, right next to where her parents' restaurant was.   
“This car was close by when my father was attacked,” she said. “And it was also there around the time they were threatened the first time. Could be a lead.”  
“Not very much.”  
“It's all I can find. And we have the plates.” Hailey zoomed in, the license plate was clearly visible. She switched to the respective database, entered the plate and got an actual result.  
The car was registered to a certain Franco Begnini, 32, originally from Bridgeport, last known address in Highland Park. No priors, not even a parking ticket.   
“Let's dig into this guy, discreetly,” Jay suggested. “Perhaps there's a connection to the Outfit.   
“What's going on with this guy?”   
Hailey flinched, as she heard her sergeant's voice in her back.   
“Sarge?”  
“Hailey, I've been waiting for you to talk to me,” Voight said quietly. “I think it's about time now. Who is this guy? What are you looking into?”  
Jay moved back a bit, just enough to make it clear that it was Hailey's decision how much she would reveal, but not too far so that it was clear he had her back.  
Voight briefly glanced at Jay, noticed he wouldn't talk.  
“Hailey?”  
“Your office?” she reluctantly suggested.   
“Okay.”  
Hailey nodded at Jay, made it clear she needed to do this alone, so Jay turned his focus back to the computer, trying to find anything on Begnini, anything that might help.  
Reluctantly Hailey followed Voight into his office, closed the door behind her – not because of Jay, but in case the others returned.  
“Hailey, what's going on?”  
“I've got something personal to investigate,” she evaded Voight's question.  
“That's what Jay told me,” Voight answered. “But now I'm asking you.”  
“You told him we had a few days.”  
Voight leaned back into his chair. “Yes, that's what I said. But why are you looking into this guy?”  
Hailey frowned. “Because his car is a lead. Do you know him?”  
“I know the family,” Voight said. “What is it, Hailey?”  
“It's personal.”  
“You said that already. But now that you are digging into this guy, I can't stand by any longer. This might be more than you two can handle off the books. Bigger and more dangerous. I need to know what's going on.”  
Hailey frowned again, thought for a minute. “I'll go get Jay.”


	5. Chapter 5

As soon as Jay was sitting next to her in Voight's office, Hailey slowly, reluctantly started talking. She told Voight about the two guys that had threatened and attacked her father, about Pablo Ramirez and his Bodega.   
“Protection money?” Voight finally said. “And it didn't occur to you that you should have told me right away?”  
“Sarge, my brother insisted...”  
“Hailey, we all know how this works. These guys always say that they find out if the police is involved. Haven't you heard that before?”  
“Of course, but...”  
“I know, it's family. But especially when it's family, you shouldn't do this alone.”  
“Jay's helping,” Hailey quietly protested.   
“I know, and that's good, but not enough.”  
“Sarge, what do you know about Begnini?” Jay interrupted to take the heat off Hailey. “Anything we can use? Is he involved with the Outfit? The guys you know from your Social Club?”  
Voight looked straight at Hailey again. “Are we investigating officially now?”  
Hailey sighed. There was no way out anymore. “Do I have a choice?”  
Voight shrugged, his face showed the familiar slightly amused expression.  
“Please be careful. I don't want to endanger my family.”  
“Fine,” Voight said. “I will talk to the guys from my Social Club, yes. I have seen Begnini there, but I'm not sure how he fits in with them.”

In the afternoon, Janie called Jay. She had something. Less than an hour later, Jay and Hailey met with her in a parking lot by Lake Michigan in Highland Park. Hailey stayed in the car, while Jay was talking to his CI.   
“You've got something?” he asked the young woman.  
“Yes, but I'm not sure if it's useful,” she answered reluctantly.   
“Let me decide that,” Jay just answered. “Anything can help.” He took a bundle of dollar bills out of his pocket, counted a few bills, then looked up at the nervous woman again.  
“So, I asked around,” she stuttered. “And people say that the Outfit is expanding to Lake Forest. They tried to hire someone I know, but he refused. It's protection money, gambling. He said it's too risky.”  
“Okay?” Jay nodded. “Have you got any names?”  
“There's someone named Tony recruiting people. And the name Gambino was mentioned.”  
Jay raised his eyebrows. He had definitely heard that name before. If Marco Gambino was involved, this was bigger than he had thought. Voight had been right. “That's very useful, Janie. Listen, don't ask around anymore, it's too dangerous, understand? These people are very unpredictable, don't get any closer. Take this and keep your head down for a while, okay?”  
Jay doubled the amount of dollars he had in his hands, gave it to his CI. She smiled at him thankfully. “Thanks for the warning, Detective,” she answered, counting the dollar bills, then smiled at Jay. “Thank you.”  
“Listen, this is serious. Lay low, don't contact your friends for the moment. The best would be to go away. I don't want you to be harmed.”  
She nodded briefly, before she turned and walked away.   
Jay wasn't sure if she would listen to his warning, but that was all he could do. Back in the car, he looked at Hailey, worry showing in his eyes.  
“What is it?”  
“Hailey, this is much more dangerous than we thought. And much bigger. It seems Marco Gambino is involved.”  
“You mean the mob boss from Bridgeport?” Hailey's eyes widened. “Why would he expand to Lake Forest? That's too far from his usual grounds.”  
“I have no idea,” Jay admitted. “But we must stop this before they get a foot on the ground here. Let's go back to 21st and talk to Voight immediately.”  
Marco Gambino was a well known mobster, who had his hands in all kinds of organized crime, drugs, gambling, you name it... It might even be too big for Intelligence alone, perhaps they would have to include Organized Crimes or the Feds in this. Hopefully Voight would be able to gain some further information from his contacts in Bridgeport. He had known some of these people, some with a shady background, for years.   
Hailey became even more worried. If all this was true, if Jay's CI had told them the truth, then this wasn't just a new and rising gang trying to gain influence. If this was the Outfit, it was a completely different ballpark. And her family – and all the other business owners – were in more severe danger than she had imagined. The Outfit wouldn't give in easily.

Voight arrived at 21st at the same time Jay and Hailey arrived, so they immediately gathered in his office.  
“Sarge, we've got something,” Jay announced before even sitting down.  
“Yeah, me too,” Voight didn't let him continue.   
“Marco Gambino,” Jay said. “According to my CI he's involved.”  
“I heard that too,” Voight answered. “Seems that someone from his family wants to extend the family business to Lake Forest.”  
“You got any names?” Jay asked. “My CI mentioned someone named Tony.”  
“I asked my contact about Begnini,” Voight said. “He's related to Gambino, supposedly an illegitimate son, returning into the arms of the family only recently. Now wants to take the family business up North.”  
“Any idea who this Tony might be?”  
“No.”  
“Sarge, how do we handle this?” Hailey said. “I don't want to endanger my family or the other families who were threatened.”  
“We'll figure something out,” Voight confirmed. “Try to find out who else was threatened, what other businesses are concerned. We might need one of the unit to go undercover. We'll discuss that tomorrow, when the others are here as well.”

Hailey had planned a quiet evening, she wanted to go home, perhaps think about the next steps, but unfortunately this didn't happen. When she and Jay arrived at her place to have a beer together, her phone rang.  
It was her brother. Without hesitation she answered the call, didn't say much. Jay watched her intently, getting more and more worried as the expression in her face changed. Something had happened.   
With a “call you tomorrow,” she ended the call, breathed heavily.  
Jay put a hand on her shoulder. “What?”  
“Another attack”, Hailey said. “The owner of the Swan, a traditional pub in Lake Forest, was threatened and beaten. She's in hospital, in critical condition. Her husband doesn't want to press charges, however, doesn't want the police to investigate.”  
“We need to...”  
“No Jay,” Hailey stopped him. “According to Danny the attackers mentioned that they knew the police was snooping around, and this was a warning. He's angry, told me to keep out of it.”  
“But we have to do something, Hailey,” Jay said, trying to calm a clearly agitated Hailey down.  
“No,” Hailey insisted. “We don't.”  
“Hailey!”  
She shook her head vigorously. “Jay, haven't we done enough damage? Someone else is in hospital, because we weren't cautious enough.”  
“Not because we weren't cautious,” Jay disagreed.   
“You think?” Suddenly her worry turned into anger, anger at Jay, for no other reason than that he was the only other person present. “Jay, you convinced me to investigate, even though my family didn't want it. And now someone else's life's in danger.”  
“Hey, calm down,” Jay softly said.  
“I won't calm down, Jay,” Hailey snapped. “You shouldn't have talked to Voight, shouldn't have made me do this. I can't risk it anymore. It's my family we're talking about, after all.”   
Her eyes turned to a darker shade of blue with worry and anger, and for a second Jay was taken aback. Then he suddenly remembered how he had reacted after his father had died. How he had treated Hailey, out of all people. A sobering thought. He forced himself to stay calm and supportive, not to take this attack personally.  
“Don't you want to say anything?” Hailey asked.  
Instead of answering, Jay stood up, closed the distance between them and looked at her, his eyes soft and full of warmth. She stared at him with sparkling eyes, not ready to put her anger aside. What now?  
“Jay, what do you think you're doing?”  
Jay couldn't suppress a mischievous grin all of a sudden. “You know how cute you are when you're angry?”  
“What?” That was definitely something Hailey hadn't expected. She stood up too, hands on her hips. He wouldn't get out of this so easily. His calmness irritated her, though. “Jay!”  
Jay didn't answer, he just shook his head softly and pulled a surprised Hailey into a hug. At first she tried to resist, tried to push him away. She wasn't ready to let go, she wanted to be angry at someone, even if it was Jay, who was the last person to deserve this. Jay didn't let go, though. He simply held her tight, waited patiently. He sensed how much Hailey needed her anger as a shield, how rigid her whole body was, but slowly, very slowly she stopped resisting his hug. Finally, after what seemed like hours, she leaned against him, clung to him. She didn't want to, but she buried her head in his shoulder, allowed him to calm her down, and bit by bit her anger vanished. She knew that nothing of this was Jay's fault, yet it had been so easy to blow off steam, to direct all her worries, her frustration towards him, towards the one person that would always be there for her.   
“I'm sorry, Jay.”  
He didn't reply, so she lifted her head, searching for a reaction in his face. Their eyes found each other, and in an impulse, Hailey kissed him. Instinctively, taken by surprise, Jay kissed her back, then quickly retreated.  
“Hailey, don't,” he whispered. “Not like this.” He didn't want to take advantage of her vulnerable state. It was so difficult to pull back, because this was what he wanted so bad, yet he needed to be sure this was more than an impulse and a thank-you.   
“Not like what?” Hailey whispered. “Jay...”  
“Hailey, I... I... I want to do this right. For once.”  
Hailey wrinkled her forehead, trying to understand what he meant.  
“Hailey,” Jay continued, almost reluctantly. “I need to know this is not just happening in the heat of the moment. I don't want you to wake up tomorrow and decide this wasn't supposed to happen.”  
Hailey stared at Jay, processing his words, slowly understanding. Slowly, tentatively she smiled. “Jay, this isn't just a heat-of-the-moment thing. Remember that day in the hospital, when I said I wanted to tell you something?”  
Jay nodded. He remembered that moment all too well, that moment when he stupidly let his UC-phone distract him. He remembered how his heartbeat got out of control when she had looked at him for a split-second. He kissed Hailey again. No, this wasn't a heat-of-the-moment thing. He had waited too long for this already, should have done this a long time ago.


	6. Chapter 6

They moved to her living room couch, and sat down close to each other. Hailey finally let go of the anger, the tension, as she leaned against him, allowed herself to feel protected in his arms. They quietly talked about the case, about Hailey's family a bit longer, and when Hailey couldn't suppress a yawn, Jay stood up, like he would always do.   
“What are you doing?” she asked lazily.  
“Going home,” Jay answered.   
“Stay,” Hailey requested. “I don't want to be alone.”  
“Don't you think this would be a bit too fast?” Jay was still reluctant. Of course he wanted to stay, but right now he should be the sensible one. Hailey was still too vulnerable.  
“Jay, all I want is you to stay with me,” Hailey replied. “I don't want to be alone right now. Please.”  
He smiled. What man would be able to resist this request? But he promised himself he would not take advantage of her, he would be the perfect gentleman. Hailey meant too much to him. “Okay,” he agreed, kissed her softly. Hailey stood up, took his hand and together they went upstairs to her bedroom.   
Hailey quickly vanished into the bathroom, leaving a slightly puzzled Jay behind. Now what? He didn't quite know what to do, then decided to undress to his boxers and t-shirt, and slipped under the covers. A few minutes later Hailey returned, dressed in sleeping shorts and a large shirt, and as if it were the most normal thing in the world, lay down next to him, rested her head on his chest. Jay put his arms around her protectively. There was so much he would have loved to do right now, but this wasn't the right moment. Hailey needed to feel safe with him, nothing else.  
“Night, Jay,” she whispered, placed a soft kiss on his lips. 

Hailey was so exhausted that she fell asleep quickly, unlike Jay, who was still quite agitated. Had it actually happened? So much had been going on recently. He had been waiting for this moment for so long, had never quite worked up the courage, and now it had happened so sudden, and it felt so normal already. Here he was, lying in bed holding the woman he loved in his arms, and there was nothing strange or unfamiliar about it, not the tiniest hint of a doubt. She was exactly what he wanted and needed, all that and more. And as much as he wanted it all right now, as much as he wanted to kiss her, touch her, caress her, make love to her, it wasn't difficult to hold back, because now was not the time for that. Tonight she needed his presence, his strength, his support. They had all the time in the world for everything else.

When Hailey woke up, she was disoriented for a second, felt different. She quickly realized, however, that what was different was that Jay still held her tight, that her hand rested on his waist. She inhaled his scent, which was so familiar and comforting. She had been dreaming about waking up like this for so long, and finally last night both had taken this step. He hadn't stepped back when she got angry; on the contrary – he had recognized her anger for what it was: fear, frustration, insecurity. He had surprised her quite a bit when he had just hugged her, while she was picking a fight with him. Instead of fighting back, he had done the complete opposite. And it worked. And then she had kissed him. Had kissed those lips she had stared at so often before. Those lips with the very distinctive freckles, those lips that could smirk in such a cute way, those lips that were even softer than she had imagined. Her hand slipped under his shirt, caressing the soft skin. She wouldn't have resisted if he had attempted to make love to her last night, that much was sure, but in a way she was glad that he hadn't. Not in the state they had been the night before. Sleeping in his arms had been perfect.

Before going into work, they stopped at Jay's place, so he could change into fresh clothes. No need to arise any suspicion with Voight and the others. That talk would come soon enough. Voight already waited for them, and so did the rest of the team.   
“Good, you're here,” Voight greeted them. “We have to fill the whole unit in on your case, Hailey.”  
Hailey didn't like that, but obviously there was nothing she could do. “Sarge, we need to be careful,” she protested. “I don't want to risk anything.”  
“I know,” Voight said. “But this is too big for just the two of you. Hailey, why don't you give us the details.”  
Hailey quickly glanced at Jay, who gave her an encouraging smile, before she began to tell her unit the whole story, or what she was willing to share. She left out most of her family issues. The others didn't need to know that she and her family weren't on the best of terms. Adam knew a bit about it, but he didn't mention anything, and Hailey was grateful for this.  
“How is your father, Hailey?” Kim asked. “Will he recover?”   
Hailey shrugged. “I hope so. Seems though that Moira, the pub owner, is worse.”  
“Hailey, you take Jay and talk to your father and to this Moira. I will take Adam to the Social Club in Bridgeport for further information. Kim, Kevin, you will dig deeper into the suspects.”  
Jay noticed that Hailey wasn't too happy with Voight's assignment.   
“Perhaps we should see your brother first, what do you think?” he asked. “He is the one that gave us most of the information after all. Don't you agree, Sarge?”  
Voight thought for a minute, then nodded. “Fine, do that. Talk to Hailey's brother, but then you need to go to the hospital.”  
“I'll call Danny,” Hailey said and vanished into the break room.  
“Any problems?” Voight asked Jay.   
“We'll figure it out,” Jay just said.  
“Jay, no more secrets,” Voight's voice held a warning.  
“It's not my place to elaborate,” Jay said. “I'll make sure there won't be any problems.”  
“Fine.”

Danny was available that morning, so Jay and Hailey agreed to meet with him and drove to Highland Park, where Danny had a small house. Hailey's brother didn't look too happy to see his sister and her partner, when he reluctantly opened the door and asked them to enter.  
“Let me guess, you're still trying to investigate?” he asked.  
“You know we have to,” Hailey said calmly. “Good to see you, Danny.”  
Briefly Danny's face softened. “You too, sis.” The broad-shouldered, blonde man hugged his sister. “You should have visited more often.”  
“Yeah,” Hailey agreed. “Danny, this is Jay Halstead, my partner. Can you please fill us in once more? What happened yesterday? Did you talk to Moira or Pat? Is The Swan still open?”  
Danny rolled his eyes in a way that reminded Jay so much of Hailey that he had so suppress a grin. Jay noticed that he liked Hailey's brother, even though he wasn't too welcoming. But he sensed that this was because of worry for his family, nothing else. Jay felt that Danny was a good guy.  
“Pat called me yesterday,” Danny explained. “They are getting bolder. This time these thugs didn't come at closing time, but during regular hours. Moira was taking out the trash, when they attacked her. She had refused to give them any money. Just like dad. By the way, did you visit him yet?”  
“No,” Hailey just answered.  
“Hailey, I know it's not easy, but he's an old man now.”  
“That doesn't change the past.”  
“He misses you, Hailey. And mom does too.”  
“We went to see mom.”  
“I know. But you really should talk to dad.”  
“We will,” Hailey answered. “We have to interrogate him. But now back to what you can tell us, Danny.”  
It turned out that Danny couldn't give them much more information than he already had.  
“Do you think it's possible to get someone inside?” Jay asked. “We need to get to this gang, before they do more harm. Perhaps I could apply for a job as a waiter?”  
“Why don't I do that?” Hailey wondered. “I mean, I know our restaurant, I've done the job before. And people remember me.”  
Danny didn't look too happy, and neither did Jay. He would have preferred to go undercover himself, but of course Hailey wouldn't have that. Especially since she was right. People would be less suspicious if the owner's daughter stepped in, now that the owner himself was in hospital.   
“Listen, we'll talk about this with our Sergeant,” Jay suggested. “We'll see what he thinks and call you tonight. Perhaps we can start tomorrow. I suppose they will return pretty soon to put more pressure on you and the others.”  
They agreed to leave it at this, so that now there was nothing else left than drive to the hospital and see Hailey's father. 

When Jay stopped the truck in the hospital's parking lot, he looked at Hailey inquiringly.  
“Are you sure about that?”  
Hailey shrugged. “No, absolutely not. But it's our best option.”  
“Right,” he answered. “It won't be easy, I know that. And I'll be there with you, all the way.”  
Hailey smiled at him weakly. “It will be fine. I've been through worse.”  
“You're not alone this time.”  
“I know,” she smiled at him, more positively now. It was true, and it made a huge difference that Jay was there with her. She quickly kissed him. “Thank you, babe.”  
Jay would have loved to take her hand when they were walking into the hospital, but this was an official visit, and they needed to stay professional. Whatever happened, he was there. Still, he knew that Hailey wouldn't show her feelings while on the job, she didn't allow herself to get distracted. Right now they had to interrogate a victim, who just happened to be her estranged father.  
Nevertheless, Jay didn't leave Hailey's side for a second, was closer to her than he usually was.  
A nurse took them to the ICU, where Nick Upton was being treated, and standing in front of the door, Hailey breathed heavily. Jay put his hand on her shoulder. “You'll be fine.”  
“Yeah,” she just answered before she opened the door.


	7. Chapter 7

The room in the ICU was similar to those at Med, where Jay's brother worked. A screen, lots of cables, beeping sounds indicating everything was under control, and a tall gray-haired man sleeping in the bed. So that was Hailey's father – the wife-beater, the bully. He didn't look dangerous now, dressed in a hospital gown, and with the prominent black eye and the cut on his forehead.  
“Hailey,” he opened his eyes and looked straight at them.  
“Dad.”  
“So it took this for you to visit finally.”  
“Dad!” Hailey almost stepped back, almost tried to blend in with the wall at the slightly hostile tone. “How are you?”  
“Hmm. Not great, obviously.”  
“Dad, I'm sorry this happened.” To be honest, part of her wasn't sorry at all, because this was the man that had assaulted her mother countless times. But he was still her father, who was the victim of a crime. And they needed to interview him.  
“I'm Detective Halstead,” Jay interrupted. “Hailey's partner. Sir, we would like to ask a few questions about the attack.”  
“I see,” Nick Upton grumbled. “You're not here to see how I am doing. I'm surprised that you didn't send your 'partner' here on his own.”  
“Dad, please!” Hailey tried hard not to cringe. This was going even worse than expected. “We only started investigating this because Danny contacted me. Because nobody in the neighborhood talks.”  
“Right, and why do you think I will talk?”  
“Mr. Upton,” Jay stepped forward. “This is not something you can do on your own. This gang, they won't stop what they are doing, just because you refuse to talk to the police. Even giving them money them won't stop it. It will only get worse, until someone dies. Believe me, this is not the first time I've seen this happen. Now, what do you know about them, please?”  
Nick Upton grumbled, but it seemed Jay's calm insistent voice got through to him more than his daughter.   
“Fine,” he breathed heavily, and it was obvious that he wasn't well at all. This conversation tired him, and he spoke slowly when he continued.   
“There were two men. One called the other Tony. Young, perhaps in their 20s, early 30s. Italian, Spanish perhaps, I don't know. They wanted money, a lot of money, but not more than we would be able to afford. Said there was no way out.”  
“And you refused?”  
“Of course,” Nick answered with a slight hint of boiling anger. “Had this restaurant for 25 years, without that nonsense. And now leave, I'm exhausted.”  
“Thanks, Mr. Upton,” Jay nodded. “We will do all we can to get these guys behind bars.”  
Slowly and reluctantly Hailey took her father's hand. “We'll take care of this, dad. Get well.”  
“Yeah.”   
“Bye, dad.”

Outside, Hailey leaned against the wall, trying hard to stay calm. She needed a few minutes to recover, and Jay patiently gave her the time. He put his hand on her shoulder, showing he was there, and waited.   
“That went well...” she finally said. “Now, let's go and see Moira.”  
Jay didn't have to say that he was there for Hailey, if she wanted to talk. She knew it, and she looked at him gratefully when he didn't try to make her talk. This would have to wait.

Moira James, owner of The Swan pub, was in a room not far away, and talking to her was definitely easier, even though she was in a worse state, and talking was much more difficult for her. But she welcomed Hailey with a wide smile, clearly happy to see her. She couldn't give them any new information, however. The same two guys, the same MO, when she refused to pay, she was assaulted. She knew, though, that other business owners in the vicinity had paid protection money, even gave them the names of three of them. 

“You need some time before we drive back to 21st?” Jay asked, when they were out in the parking lot again. “Want to grab a coffee?”  
Hailey shook her head. “No, let's go. We need to get the ball rolling.” 

Back at 21st, the rest of the unit was already waiting for them.  
“What do we have?” Voight asked.   
Jay stepped up to the whiteboard. “Until now it's basically the standard MO for gangs that want to gain control over a neighborhood,” he explained. “Visit business owners, threaten them, if they don't comply, assault them. Similar to the case we had a few years ago with that gang from South America, remember? What is interesting though is that they seem to ask for exactly the amount of money these businesses can spare without going bankrupt. They ask for a lot, but never too much.”  
“Meaning?” Adam said.  
“You think they have someone inside?” Kevin asked.  
“Either that, or they have someone who knows about their finances in detail. Tax consultant or something like that.” Jay suggested. “I mean, if it's the Outfit, they do have connections everywhere.”  
“Right, Jay,” Voight agreed. “It's worth taking a shot.”  
“Did you find out anything in Bridgeport, Sarge?” Hailey wanted to know.  
“Franco Begnini is not the brain behind this,” Voight said. “He's working for his father, Marco Gambino. This other guy probably is Tony Agnello, Begnini's cousin. They are in fact trying to expand into the North. Gambino is deep into drugs, gambling, blackmailing. So at one point we will have to involve Organized Crime.”  
“But let's try something else first,” Hailey said. “I talked to my brother, and we thought it might be a good idea if I went undercover and worked in my family's restaurant. It wouldn't raise suspicion if I came to help, a lot of people in the neighborhood still know me. And not everyone knows I'm a cop. I'm sure Begnini will come back soon to collect his money. It might help if I was there. We could give them the money, I wear a wire. We've got them.”  
“Hmmm,” Voight grumbled. “We can do that. However, these two guys are just small fish. I would like to get them for more than just a bit of blackmail. So yes, give them the money, and then see what happens. I'm sure that's not all.”  
They agreed on a plan. Starting the next day, Hailey would work in her family's restaurant, would hand over the money, and see what happened. Jay would stay close, pretend to be a customer and hang out in the restaurant as much as possible, while the rest of the team would try to find out more.   
“You could pretend to be Hailey's boyfriend,” Kim suggested. “That way it wouldn't be suspicious if you hung out in the restaurant every night.”  
“Yeah, because that wouldn't be much of a stretch,” Adam joked.   
Jay and Hailey exchanged a quick glance, but didn't comment.   
“Whatever is most convincing,” Voight just answered, his face not showing what he thought of this, or if he suspected anything. “Have each other's backs.”

Back at Hailey's place in the evening, Jay grinned. “So, I met most of your family now. That... that's kind of official.”  
“You think?” Hailey grinned back at him, eyebrows raised. “They met my partner.”  
Jay's grin got wider. “Well, if we go ahead like Kim suggested, they will soon find out.”  
“Or,” Hailey laughed. “They will think we're acting well.”  
Jay put his hand on hers, his fingers played with hers. “Whatever you prefer.”  
“Seriously, Jay,” Hailey lowered her head. “Thank you for being there with me today. I couldn't have done without you.”  
“I know you would, Hailey. You're strong.”  
“Seriously, Jay, thank you. I needed you there.”  
He softly kissed her. “You've done so much for me. It's time I do something for you.”  
Hailey slipped her hands around him, put one on the back of his neck. “Stop talking, Jay,” she whispered, before she pulled his head close to hers and kissed him.   
Jay laughed against her mouth, answered her kiss.   
After a while he stopped, looked at her. “Listen, Hailey,” he said. “There's something I need to say.”  
Hailey tilted her head. “What, Jay? Anything wrong?” She was a bit worried, since he was so serious all of a sudden.  
“Hailey, this afternoon I remembered something,” Jay slowly continued. “I remembered how I treated you back when my father had died.”  
Hailey nodded. “That's been a long time ago.”  
“But I've never really apologized to you. I mean, all the crap I said to you, I still remember every word, and I feel bad about it. Especially now that I know what it was that I stupidly called daddy-daughter-issues. I mean, I was angry with my father, with myself, our strained relationship, and you... what you have experienced as a child, I can't even imagine. I was such a prick.”  
“Jay, it's been years,” Hailey didn't actually want to talk about this. “It's over.”  
“Hailey, I'm so sorry. I behaved terribly. I don't want this to stand between us. And I need you...”  
“Jay,” Hailey interrupted. “It's fine. I accept your apology, and I forgave you a long time ago. We're good, always.”  
Jay looked at her, trying to see if she was serious, and slowly a smile appeared on his face. “Good.”  
“So, where were we?” Hailey smiled back at him, kissed him again. “Let's not talk about family stuff tonight, okay? Or work. All that can wait until tomorrow.”  
Jay obliged willingly.   
They spent a quiet night in, cooked some food together, watched a movie after dinner, enjoyed the closeness. 

This night Jay went home, as much as he would have loved to stay, he felt that both needed to spend some time alone. He felt that Hailey needed to process all the new developments; seeing her family again, her father, actually working in the family restaurant, even if it were for what would hopefully be just a few days. And their new relationship.   
They spent so much time together, and for both of them it was necessary to give the other some space.


	8. Chapter 8

In the morning the whole unit gathered at 21st, going through all their findings again, before Hailey and Jay would head for Lake Forest.  
The whiteboard held all important information, next steps, leads. Photos of the three criminals they had identified, Begnini, Agnello, and Gambino. Names of the businesses they knew had been threatened. Names and location of all other businesses in the neighborhood. Kim, Adam and Kevin would try to find out if they had been approached by Begnini too, in order to find out how big this whole operation already was. And perhaps someone else would be willing to help them. But right now their best lead was the Upton's restaurant. Voight was sure Begnini would soon turn up again, increase the pressure. And they needed to have someone inside. They would also try to check with Moira James' husband, who right now ran their pub alone, perhaps they would be willing to help too. And if not, Adam would show up as a new customer, linger around, wait and watch. 

Before she left, Hailey called her brother to confirm the latest status. He didn't seem happy that Intelligence actually wanted to go through with this, but didn't object either, much to Hailey's relief. Perhaps, just perhaps he trusted her enough to be confident that she'd be able to get their attackers behind bars.  
Hailey and Jay had agreed that she would drive up to Lake Forest alone, and that he would come to the restaurant a bit later, pretending to be her boyfriend, who just couldn't stay away from her. Which wasn't far from the truth, but the unit didn't have to know that detail. Jay would be in the restaurant most time when Hailey was there working. He would watch, and if Begnini or his associates showed up, he'd be there to have her back, to interfere if anything happened.

To Hailey it was surprisingly easy to go back to the restaurant, put on the dark red shirt and matching checkered apron all waiters and waitresses wore, and to get to work. Danny and she didn't talk much at first. They had agreed that the other employees, the chef and his aide, the other waitress, wouldn't be let in on the plan. To them Hailey would be nothing but Nick Upton's daughter stepping in to help. If her brother had to leave for business, she would stay in the restaurant the whole time, in case Begnini or his guys showed up.  
She started working in the afternoon, preparing the restaurant for dinnertime with her brother. It wasn't complicated, she had helped out before, and not much had changed in the way her family organized things. The chef had been out to get groceries in the morning, he and Danny – and now Hailey – quickly talked through the day, what to expect and prepare, any special orders, and then it didn't take long before the first customers arrived and Hailey didn't have any more time to think. Jay showed up around 6pm, sat down in a corner booth, where he could watch both the entrance and the door that led to the back of the restaurant, kitchen, office, back door.  
When Kathy, the other waitress on duty tonight, wanted to go and take Jay's order, Hailey stopped her. “I'll do that, Kathy,” she said with the sweetest smile. She greeted Jay with a quick kiss, sat down next to him. She wore a wire, so Voight and the unit could listen to all they said.  
“Hey,” he softly said. “You okay?”  
“It's a strange feeling to be back,” Hailey admitted. “But I'm fine.”  
“Did anyone show up already?”  
“No, not yet. Let's give them a few days, I'm sure we won't have to wait too long.”  
“That means a few days with good food, right?”  
“I'll get you something.” Hailey laughed, then out of an impulse added, “Jay, when I stand up, please pull me back, make it look a bit rough.”  
Jay wasn't quite sure what she meant, but he obliged and grabbed her wrist, when Hailey stood up, and she sat down again immediately.  
“I've got an idea,” she whispered. “We need a reason why you'll be here whenever I work.”  
“I'm listening,” Jay said, still holding her wrist, very lightly.  
“Let's pretend you want to know exactly where I am, that you want to control me.”  
“You mean, like your dad?” Jay's eyes widened. “I don't know.”  
“Jay, that would explain why you're always here. And it might help me gain everyone's trust. The child leaving the abusive father to enter a similarly abusive relationship.”  
“Are you sure, Hailey?” Jay wasn't convinced, he didn't like this a bit. “But Danny? And your mom?”  
“I will explain it to my brother, and to my mother, if she comes here.”  
“Well, if you insist,” Jay reluctantly agreed. “But promise me to let me know...”  
“I will, Jay, don't worry. I know you're not that man.”  
She was about to stand up, when Jay held her back, kissed her quickly. “Okay.”  
Kathy looked at Hailey, when she came back to the kitchen. “Your boyfriend.”  
“Yeah,” Hailey quietly said, pretending to be both happy and a bit embarrassed. The embarrassment was real, however. She had just realized that her whole unit had listened in, and now they all knew about her father. And they all had heard how easily they behaved like a couple, they heard them kiss – twice.

Nothing significant happened in the evening, so they could return home to Hailey's place at a reasonable time.  
It had been weird for Hailey that Jay had often called her to his booth, that he was constantly watching her; it didn't feel good. Even though it had been her idea, she fell back into the role she had had as a daughter much too quickly, and the feeling of helplessness was creeping back into her mind.  
“You okay?” Jay asked, seeing that this was bothering her. “Did I overdo it?”  
“No, Jay,” Hailey assured him. “You didn't do anything wrong.”  
“We have to stop this, Hailey. It brings back too many bad memories. And I'm not comfortable with this at all.”  
“I'll be fine, Jay.”  
Jay looked into her eyes, trying to see if she was telling the truth. “Hailey, I don't want this job to change us. I don't want you to be scared of me, not a bit. I want you to know that I'd never hurt you, that I'll always protect you.”  
Slowly, Hailey nodded. “I know that, Jay,” she softly said. “If there's anything in this world that I know it's the fact that I can trust you. I wouldn't have asked anyone else, because there's nobody I trust more than you.” She wrapped her arms around him, kissed him tenderly. The simple fact that he was so worried confirmed her trust in him. “Jay, I want to be with you tonight. With you, not the guy you're pretending to be in the restaurant. That will help us through the days.”  
Jay didn't need much persuasion, he sensed that both needed this, needed to be the couple they really were. Passionate, loving, trusting the other with their lives.  
Jay put his hands around her waist and picked her up, sat her down on the kitchen counter, and stepped closer, slipped his hands under her shirt when he kissed her. Hailey let her body fall against his, into his touch. She sighed softly when she felt his warm hands explore her skin. She took off her shirt, and Jay just stared at her in awe. He had dreamed about this moment so often, had imagined it, and in reality she was even more beautiful than he could have imagined. Tentatively his hands moved up, and Hailey immediately had goosebumps. She guided his hand, before she pulled off his shirt too. She needed to feel his skin on hers, pulled him closer. Jay stood right between her legs, and his whole body reacted to hers.  
“You sure?” he asked hoarsely in one last attempt of restraint.  
“Absolutely,” Hailey managed to say, before she kissed him again.  
This was the confirmation he needed. Jay easily picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around him, as he carried her upstairs to the bedroom.

In the morning, Hailey woke up in Jay's arms, right where she wanted to be. When she opened her eyes, she looked right into Jay's soft green eyes. He had been watching her sleep, didn't want to wake her up too early.  
“Hey,” he said softly.  
“Hey, babe.” Hailey kissed him again, pushed his body back on the bed and crouched over him, her fingers caressing his chest.  
“We've got to go to work,” Jay protested halfheartedly, knowing very well that his mind and body contradicted his words already, as his hands moved up her skin.  
“Not for an hour,” Hailey smiled at him, kissed him tenderly. Jay laughed, and willingly gave in to Hailey. Why would he resist this amazing woman, now that she finally was his girlfriend?

Jay barely made it into work on time. Hailey didn't come with him, as she wanted to start working in the restaurant right away. There was a lot of work, and perhaps their blackmailers would choose the morning for a visit. Jay didn't like to see her go all alone, but it would have been suspicious if he had come with her. They had called Voight, who had decided that Kevin would watch the restaurant until Jay would go there, so Hailey wouldn't be all alone. 

“What was that about Hailey's father?” Kim asked Jay when they met on the stairs to the office. “Anything we need to know?”  
Jay shook his head. “Not my place to tell, Kim. Nothing to worry about, we won't threaten the case. She'll be fine, I will make sure of that.”  
Kim looked at him doubtfully. There had been hints before, moments in which Hailey had implied that he childhood hadn't been all sunshine and roses, but they had never talked about this before. Despite Jay's answer she was a bit worried, hoped this case wouldn't trigger anything in Hailey.  
“Are you okay pretending to be an abusive boyfriend?”  
“Of course not,” Jay scoffed. “But if it helps with the case.”  
“Make sure Hailey's okay, will you?” Kim asked, looking at Jay inquiringly.  
“Definitely.”

When the team minus Hailey and Kevin were gathered in the office, they exchanged all the new information they had gathered the day before. Kevin, Kim and Adam had talked to other business owners in the area, but the results were discouraging. Nobody wanted to talk. Only Moira James' husband Pat had talked to Adam, probably because his wife had talked to him. He agreed that Adam could hang out in the pub regularly, promised to let him know if anything happened. That was two out of approximately 15 businesses. Not the result they had hoped for, but better than nothing. And perhaps they would gain the trust of further business owners over the next few days.  
Voight had reached out to his contacts too, and had vital information as well.  
“Gambino seems to be planning something,” he explained. “He wants to expand his influence up north, as we already know, but not only the protection money. I'm not quite sure what it's about, and I don't think this has anything to do with drugs. So keep your eyes and ears open, try to find out more with other CI's.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some developments of this story came as a surprise to me too, I hadn't planned to let Jay play (!) an abusive boyfriend. But it fit within the storyline, so I decided to go with it, even though I'm sorry for Hailey and it doesn't feel good.


	9. Chapter 9

They didn't need to talk to CI's, however, because that day Begnini and Agnello showed up again in the Upton's restaurant.  
Jay had just arrived and sat down in the corner booth, when he noticed that Hailey followed her brother to the back. She hadn't said the code-word for him to interfere yet, so he stayed in his booth. He listened to what was happening, prepared to run to her rescue, though.   
He could hear Danny's voice, as he argued with someone. Then Hailey's voice, trying to calm down the two men, without success. The voices became louder. Jay was ready to go in, his eyes glued to the door. But it wasn't necessary, he heard how Hailey handed over money, and the unknown man's voice calmed down.   
“Finally you came to your senses,” he said. “Listen, I've got another business opportunity for you.”  
Jay listened up.  
“This restaurant could use some slot machines in the second room.”  
“But we don't have a license,” Danny objected. “And why would we want them? Our patrons don't care for slot machines.”   
“Let's hear what your friend has to say,” Hailey interrupted her brother quietly.   
“She's clearly smarter than you, my friend. The license isn't a problem. We have new machines for you to install, and you pay us a fee. I'm sure your customers would like that. And we could make your business more successful.”  
Before Danny could say anything, Hailey answered. “Give us a few days to think about this, will you? We have to talk to my father about it, as you might imagine.”  
“Don't take too long. This is a one-time offer.”  
With that Jay heard footsteps and a door closing. Seconds later both Danny and Hailey appeared back in the restaurant.   
“Hailey!” Jay yelled across the room, so loud that Hailey flinched for real. She ducked, looked around, saw that all eyes were on her. Hailey couldn't prevent from blushing. Okay, back to playing her role. Hastily she approached Jay's booth, sat down next to him.   
Jay's face had turned to stone, and Hailey almost believed that he was angry. She lowered her head.   
“What is it?” she whispered.  
“Where were you for so long?” Jay asked loud enough for all to hear. “Who did you meet back there?”  
Was that actual fear in her eyes? Jay wanted to take her in his arms, tell her everything was okay, but he had to stay in character. Nevertheless his hand softly touched hers under the table. She grabbed his hand with both hers, convincing herself that it was all make-believe.  
“Just business, Jay,” she said meekly.  
“Begnini?” Jay asked quietly.  
“You heard him?”  
“Yes. And that's not all. Hailey, we need to talk to Voight now. Be prepared.”  
She stared into his eyes, looking for a hint of his usual softness, breathed heavily.  
“You need to come home now,” Jay ordered, his voice loud and sharp.  
“But...”  
“Hailey! Home! Now!”  
“I need to tell my brother.”  
“Hurry!” Jay's thumb quickly brushed over the back of her hand, then he let go.  
Quickly Hailey stood up and crossed the room, head hanging low. Danny looked at her, irritated.  
“Danny, I need to leave.”  
“What's this, Hailey?” her brother asked, worried.  
“I told you,” Hailey answered. “Don't worry. I'll call you.”  
“Sure you're okay?” Danny asked again.  
“Hailey!” Jay yelled. He was standing by the door, pretending to be very impatient.  
“I'm sure, Danny. He's just acting. Jay's a good guy.”  
With that Hailey almost ran to the door, where Jay immediately put a hand on her shoulder as he shoved her outside. They walked away, and when Hailey sat down in Jay's truck she noticed that she was trembling. This was too close to home. Jay started the car and drove away, but stopped after a few blocks.   
He turned to her. “Hailey, are you okay? I'm so sorry. I don't like doing this. Not at all.”  
Hailey swallowed hard, then nodded. “No need to apologize, Jay. It's just... it brings back bad memories. Memories of things I thought I had overcome.”  
Jay softly touched Hailey's hand. Hailey's first impulse was to pull her hand away this time, but when she looked into his warm, soft eyes, she slowly relaxed, caressed his warm hand, allowed Jay to comfort her.   
“Let's go meet Voight.”

They met with their sergeant in an abandoned parking lot under a bridge.   
“So it's about gambling,” Voight started the conversation.   
“Yes, just like you suspected,” Hailey answered, all business now. “Protection money is only their introduction into the area. Do you have more information?”  
“My contacts told me that Gambino has a large stock of new slot machines waiting to be distributed. I assume they don't work like they are supposed to, so they make more money than they should.”  
“And Begnini also said he'd take care of the gambling license,” Hailey added.   
“What do we do now?” Jay asked. “Pretend to accept their suggestion and bust them when they distribute the machines? That could take weeks.”  
“I don't think so,” Voight replied. “They will act quickly, they need to keep the pressure up. As soon as Begnini returns – and I'm convinced he'll be back no later than tomorrow – agree to take the slot machines. I'm sure he already has these fake licenses ready for you. I'll have Burgess look into that. She's also working on an angle to find out who gave them all the business data. And the moment we can make that connection, we'll arrest them. But we must get all of them. Begnini's not our main target. We need to get Gambino too.”  
“There's one more thing,” Jay said. “I think they have one of their guys in the restaurant, watching. There was this guy, sitting in that booth with a woman, two days in a row. And it didn't look like he was there because he enjoyed the food, if you know what I mean. He was trying hard to be inconspicuous, but I'm not sure of that.”  
“You mean the one at the table along the wall?” Hailey asked. “I will ask my brother if he saw him before.”  
“It's just a hunch,” Jay said.  
“Jay, your instincts are usually right, so you should get together with a sketch artist and go through some photos,” Voight decided. “And then we'll see what happens tomorrow.”  
“Sarge, we can't have Hailey in there for too long,” Jay remarked. “Not with me having to treat her like that. I don't like that, it's too much pressure.”  
“I'll be okay,” Hailey disagreed. “As long as you don't overdo it. Pretend to pull back for a few days. That's not untypical, after your yelling show today. I'll manage.”  
Jay looked at her doubtfully.   
Voight grumbled. “Your cover is good, keep it up as long as possible. As long as you say you're okay, Upton, I'll go with it.”  
Hailey nodded, “I'm fine, Sarge. I trust Jay.”  
“Okay. Go home now. I'll see you both in the office tomorrow morning.”

Jay and Hailey returned to Jay's truck and watched their Sergeant leave. Tentatively Jay put an arm around Hailey's shoulders. Without hesitation, Hailey leaned against him, slipped both her arms around his waist and leaned into Jay's comforting embrace. She needed to convince herself that this right here was Jay, not the rude guy in the restaurant. Jay held her tight, didn't move, didn't speak. 

When they were back at Hailey's place, her phone rang.   
“It's my mom,” Hailey said.  
“I assume she heard...” Jay added.  
Hailey answered the phone, and she silently listened to what her mother had to say. After a while she interrupted. “Mom,” she softly said. “Mom, listen to me. I appreciate that your friend told you what happened today. But it's definitely not what it looks like.”  
Jay wanted to leave, give Hailey some privacy, but she stopped him, silently asked him to stay.  
“Mom,” she continued. “This was an act. We needed an explanation as to why Jay's always in the restaurant. He is there to watch out, to help if necessary. He's my partner, and he would never hurt me.”  
Jay heard Hailey's mother talk a while longer, clearly agitated and worried. He knew it would take a lot of convincing before she would believe that he was not abusive, if Hailey decided to introduce him as her boyfriend. Hopefully Maria Upton would believe him, would trust him.   
“Yes, mom,” Hailey said. “I'm sure it's okay. When this is over, we'll come and visit. And yes, I saw dad.”  
She ended the phone-call, sighed. “I knew someone would tell her. Let me quickly call Danny, okay?”  
“I hope she believes you. I don't want her to think you would stay with an abusive man.”  
“I wouldn't, Jay. Never. I'm not like my mother. And you're nothing like my father.”   
She kissed Jay, ran her hand through his hair, looked into his eyes. Jay smiled back at her, the soft smile he seemed to have only for her. “I love you, Hailey.”  
“I love you too, Jay.”

Later, Hailey called her brother, to bring him up to speed as much as possible. Before she talked about the progress of the case, she confirmed again that Jay had just been acting, that he wasn't an abusive boyfriend. She hoped Danny would believe her, would not hold all that had happened today against Jay, because he needed to trust Jay Halstead, the cop. He didn't comment, but told her that the evening had been quiet, nobody had shown up. Hailey informed him about the plan to agree to the slot machine deal. Danny wasn't happy about it, but by now they were so far in that there was no way he could pull out of this anymore. He had to agree to Voight's plan, had to wait for Begnini's next steps.   
“Okay,” he finished the conversation. “I hope you're right, sis. Because if not, our restaurant will be history. And I hope you're right about Jay.”

Jay stayed the night, both needed to reassure each other that what happened in the restaurant was in fact nothing but an undercover operation, that their relationship was different. Nevertheless, Jay was worried. He had noticed how Hailey flinched, how she shrunk when he had yelled at her, when he had grabbed her wrist. He was worried that her bad childhood memories might have been triggered by this – especially since she had also seen her father again. He wanted to be there for her, help her get over this. He wanted to be the man she trusted, just like she had always said. But he knew it would be wrong to force her to talk. She would talk to him when she was ready. When this was over. He wasn't sure if she would want to visit her father again in hospital, or if that was even a good idea. Whatever she decided, though, he would be by her side. 

Hailey was grateful that Jay stayed, it was important to have him there. Of course she knew that his behavior in the restaurant was an act, she didn't need any further confirmation of that. SHE had suggested this, after all. Even though she wasn't sure why. However, it still woke up something in her mind. Brought back reactions she thought she had overcome. Making herself small, talking so quietly, trying to be invisible; all that should have been history. She knew this was something she would have to deal with on her own, but nevertheless it was good to know Jay was with her. Her rock. And she needed to make sure that she didn't have the slightest doubt in Jay, that she didn't subconsciously believe that this undercover persona was the real Jay. Because he wasn't. She had suggested this act, and whatever happened now wasn't what Jay wanted or would do in real life.


	10. Chapter 10

They spent a quiet, cozy evening, talked about the day, the case, the whole situation, and fell asleep holding each other tight.   
However, in the middle of the night Jay woke up. Hailey's sleep was uneasy, she was tossing and turning, and she had moved to the other side of the bed, as far away from him as possible. Slowly, Jay's sleeping mind began to realize what was going on, and in order to calm her down, he tentatively touched her shoulder.  
“Hailey,” he whispered. “It's okay.”  
It didn't do any good; Hailey slapped his hand, shied away from his touch.   
“Don't touch me!” she murmured in her sleep. “Don't!”  
Jay wasn't sure how to react. “Shh,” he whispered. “It's okay, hon.”  
“No!” she suddenly cried out, pushing him away, fighting an invisible attacker.   
“Hailey,” a bit louder.   
“No!” she yelled, then sat up straight, buried her face in her hands and cried. All while still fast asleep.   
Jay still was unsure what to do, it was terrible to see her like that. Perhaps he should wait until she snapped out of her nightmare, but that felt so cruel, so wrong, therefore he stood up, walked around the bed to her side, sat down next to her and pulled her into a firm embrace. He felt Hailey's body stiffen, and he tried to calm her down with soothing words, rocking her gently. At first she resisted, tried to fight him, but Jay didn't let go, and suddenly her body relaxed in his embrace, she buried her face in his shoulder. He noticed her tears on his skin. Jay felt so sorry, and so guilty. After all, he had treated her badly today. It didn't matter that they had agreed to play their UC mission out like that, it didn't matter that it had been Hailey's idea. His behavior had triggered this nightmare. And he had to do something.   
“Hailey, it's just a nightmare,” he whispered over and over again, his hand on the back of her head. “Wake up, hon.”  
“Jay?” finally he heard her soft voice. And again, “Jay?”  
“Yes, it's me. Nobody will hurt you.”  
She wrapped her arms around him, needed to feel his strength, the comfort his warm body gave her.  
“What happened, Jay?” she asked. “I'm frightened, as if something bad had happened.”  
“You had a nightmare,” Jay softly explained. “But it's over now. It's all good.”  
“Yeah.”  
“Want to go downstairs? Do you want a cup of tea?” He was afraid she would fall asleep and fall right back into this nightmare.   
“No, it's okay. Stay. Talk to me.”  
Jay obliged, got back into bed, pulled her into his arms, and softly talked to Hailey, just like she wanted. Talked about all and nothing, plans for the weekend, a bike ride into the woods, until he noticed that her breathing had calmed down and she was asleep.   
The nightmare didn't return that night, but Jay's worries stayed. What had he done? And what could he do to help her? This UC operation had to stop!

Back in the office in the morning, the unit gathered all the information they had obtained until this point. It turned out that Pat James had received a similar “offer” from Begnini after having given him the money. Pat had finally decided to trust Intelligence and Adam specifically, and as soon as Begnini and Agnello had left, he told Adam about this. After his wife had been assaulted, he didn't have the courage to stand up to the Outfit.   
“How's Moira?” Hailey asked. “Did he say anything?”  
“A bit better,” Adam replied. “She's recovering well. And your father?”  
“Not sure,” Hailey answered evasively. “They can't stop the internal bleeding.”  
“Are you okay?” Kevin asked. Like everyone else he had noticed how tired and worn Hailey looked. “How are you coping? Anything we can do to help?”   
Hailey shrugged. “I'm fine, Kev, thanks. Can't wait for this case to be over.”  
Kevin nodded, smiled at her encouragingly, then quickly looked in Jay's direction. Jay nodded almost invisibly, I've got this.   
“I'm convinced that they will return tonight and demand an answer,” Voight brought the attention back to the case. “So, Upton and Halstead will be on location, as well as Ruzek. Atwater, Burgess, you and I will patrol the area for any suspicious activity. I suspect Ramirez has received a similar business suggestion.”  
“Sarge, I'll drop Hailey off at the restaurant and will join you then. I won't be too far away if anything happens, but I'd rather pull back a bit after yesterday.”   
Voight nodded. “Fine. Burgess, have we found out anything about the licenses and the financial issues?”  
“Maybe,” Kim put two photos on the whiteboard. “Tony Agnello's sister-in-law works with the city. I haven't been able to find any actual evidence that she accessed financial data or can help with gambling licenses, but it's highly probable. I already asked our tech guys to look closer into her finances and her activities. And we should bring her in.”  
“We'll wait for what happens today before we do that. Did you make it urgent?” Voight asked.   
“Yes, we should have some results by tonight.”

“So, how are we going to play our relationship today?” Jay asked Hailey as they were on their way to Lake Forest.   
“Stop here,” she answered impulsively. “Jay, grab my arm, give me a bruise.”  
“What?” Jay stopped the car, stared at Hailey as if she were out of her mind.  
“Grab my arm, make it look like you gave me a bruise.”  
“Hailey, I can't do that.” Especially after her nightmare Jay simply couldn't do that.  
“Of course you can.” Hailey didn't like her own idea, but it might give her some more credibility. “A visible bruise, and then today you can behave all guilty, extra nice.”  
“I don't know,” Jay shook his head.   
“Jay, I'm fine, honestly.” Hailey took his hand, put it on her upper arm. “And you can make it up to me tonight, babe.”  
Jay swallowed hard, before he reluctantly pressed his fingers and thumb into Hailey's arm. She flinched, and immediately Jay let go. “You okay?”  
“Sure, Jay,” she smiled at him. “That wasn't too bad.” Her arm showed red marks from his hand, and Jay felt sick from seeing it. He had done this!   
“I'm so sorry, Hailey.”  
“Jay, it's fine,” Hailey assured him. “This is nothing like the real thing.”  
“We should have used make-up.”  
“You're right, but I didn't think about this back in the office.” Hailey shrugged it off. “Now let's go, I can't be late.”

Jay parked the truck right in front of the restaurant, where they kissed good-bye. He softly caressed Hailey's cheek, kissed her tenderly. “Be careful, okay? And call me if anything happens.”  
Hailey smiled at him. “I will, Jay. Don't worry too much. I'll be fine.” With another kiss, she left the truck and entered the restaurant under Jay's watchful eyes.   
He hoped this act wouldn't go any further, he couldn't stomach treating Hailey like that, even if she told him it was okay. When she was out of his sight, he drove off to meet with the others.  
“What's wrong, Jay?” Kim asked when she saw him.   
“I hate this act,” he replied. “I hate pretending to be an abuser. Especially with Hailey.”  
“I know, Jay,” Kim assured him. “And Hailey knows too.”  
“I hope so.” 

The unit decided to patrol the area, both on foot and by car, and Jay paid Ramirez another visit. He hoped nobody would notice him entering La Bodega through the back door.   
Pablo didn't seem happy to see him. “What is it, Detective?”  
“Just checking in on you, I want to make sure you're okay.”  
“Why wouldn't I be?”  
“Any new activities? Did they approach you with new ideas, gambling perhaps?”  
Pablo looked down.   
“So they did? Pablo, we're sure something will happen today, and we'll be in the area all day long. We'll be around until we've put an end to this. Please call me if you see anything suspicious, okay?”  
Hesitantly he took the card with Jay's UC-phone number.   
“It will be over soon, I promise. Until then watch out for yourself, will you?” Jay turned around and left. This meant that they had to keep their eyes on three businesses at least. He wondered where they would show up first.

In the meantime Hailey had arrived in the restaurant, changed into her work clothes, when Kathy, the waitress, approached her.  
“Hailey, are you okay?” she pointed at the bruise on Hailey's arm.  
“Sure,” Hailey pretended to be embarrassed, looked down.  
“What did he do?”  
“Nothing, it was my fault.”  
“Hailey, you sound like your mother!”  
So Kathy knew about her parents?  
“No, it's nothing like that. Don't worry, Kathy, I'm fine.”  
“Listen, Hailey, if I see Jay doing anything here that hurts you, I'll be the one to call the cops if you won't do it.”  
Hailey barely managed to suppress a smile. “Thanks Kathy, but it will be fine.” It was good to know that there were people willing to help in such a situation. At least when it concerned her. Nobody had done this for her mother, though.  
The restaurant was still empty, but the lunch crowd would arrive soon. Hailey joined her brother in the back room.   
“Morning Danny.”  
“Hey,” he looked at her inquiringly. “You okay?”  
“Sure. Any news here?”   
“Not yet. Nobody showed up last night.”  
“Danny, what about that couple sitting at table 21 last night. Do you know them?”  
Danny thought for a second, then shook his head. “I think they showed up a few weeks ago for the first time. Now that you mention it, they have been here every other night since then. Why?”  
“Do you have a name? A credit card receipt?”  
“So you think they are involved? Let me check for a receipt.”  
As Danny looked through his credit card receipts, Hailey looked into the main room. A few people had arrived already.   
“Here's the credit card receipt. Table 21, Anna DiStefano. Does that help?”  
“I'll give the name to my colleagues.”  
“Hailey, they just arrived,” Danny noticed. “Same table.”  
“I'll call Jay.” This could mean it – whatever “it” was – might start soon.

Jay was in the neighborhood, had just left La Bodega, therefore he could be in the restaurant within minutes. Before sitting down in his usual booth, he approached Hailey, kissed her on the cheek. She pretended to freeze for a second, Jay pretended not to notice.   
“Good morning, honey,” he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. Just as agreed he was extra nice today. That wasn't difficult. “Are you okay?”   
“Yes, Jay,” she answered cautiously. “Anything I can do for you?”  
“I'm good, honey. I'll just sit down and have lunch. You know I love you, don't you?”  
“Yes, I do. I'll be with you in a second, okay?”  
“Sure.”  
Jay kissed Hailey's cheek again before he returned to his booth, all too aware that Danny and Kathy were watching the two of them closely, obviously ready to interfere should he be the slightest bit aggressive.   
He briefly noticed the ominous couple and made sure he sat down so that he could have an eye on them and on the back door. 

They didn't have to wait for very long. From the corner of the eye he noticed an unmarked truck, which turned into the back alley, the couple at table 21 tensed, and just seconds later Danny and Hailey hurried into the back room.  
“Guys, it starts,” Jay whispered into his microphone. He automatically put his hand to his earpiece, making sure he could hear exactly what was going on in the back, when suddenly the front door opened and Marco Gambino entered. As if he knew exactly where to go, he walked across the room to the back door and into the adjacent room.  
“Where are you?” Jay's voice was more urgent now. “Gambino just arrived. He's in the back with Hailey.”  
“Going in,” he heard Voight's voice, and in the same moment there was noise in the back, loud voices, falling objects.   
DiStefano and her companion stood up and turned towards the back door.   
“Stop! Chicago PD! Hands in the air!” Jay was behind them within seconds, joined by Kevin who just came through the front door. The two men exchanged a quick glance.   
Kevin handcuffed the couple, with Jay watching closely. Kathy and the guests were frozen in their spots.   
More noise from the back, a woman cried out. Hailey!  
“Kev, you got this?”  
“Go, Jay!” Kevin just answered, his gun still directed at the two cuffed offenders, who were lying on the ground. He ordered a patrol car to the restaurant.  
Jay ran to the door, ready to help Hailey and the others, and found chaos in the back room.  
He could see Voight standing in the back, his gun pointed at Gambino, who was right behind the door, one man – Begnini – held Danny and pointed a gun at his head, and Hailey was fighting another man. He ran and pulled that guy away, threw him on the ground.  
“You okay?” he asked Hailey.  
“Yeah,” she panted and pulled out her gun.   
“Gun down!” Jay yelled at Begnini. “Put it down, let him go or I'll shoot!”   
Begnini shook his head vigorously. “You'll shoot me one way or another.” He shook a struggling Danny.  
“Gun down or I'll shoot!” Jay repeated. He could see the panic in Danny's eyes, the determination in Begnini's. Jay saw something in Begnini's eyes change, noticed a tiny movement in his hand and shot. Begnini fell down on floor, let go of Danny.   
Gambino watched the whole scene without showing any reaction, and he didn't resist when Voight handcuffed him.   
Hailey ran across the room to her brother, helped him sit up.  
“Danny, are you okay?” Hailey knelt down next to her brother, who was clearly shaken up.   
“Yeah,” he answered weakly. “You got them?”  
Hailey looked around, exchanged a glance with Jay. “Yes, we got them. It's over, Danny.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I decided to put the remaining part of this story into one slightly longer chapter, simply because I didn't know where to end one chapter. Nevertheless I hope you like it - and once again, thank you for your support and your great feedback. There should be more to come in a while . I still have to recover from episode 8x3, which was so good

Several patrol cars arrived and brought all offenders back to the 21st precinct. The operation had been a full success. Intelligence could arrest Gambino, Begnini, Anna DiStefano and her husband, and two guys that had been sitting in the truck, ready to unload several slot machines. These machines had been tampered with, as further investigation would reveal.

Jay and Hailey stayed behind in the family restaurant when all official business was done, helped Danny clean up the mess, calm down the patrons, and explain their strange behavior. Hailey could be her usual confident self again, no fear in her eyes or demeanor.   
“You know, you could have fooled me,” Kathy said. “You were so convincing, it was scary.”  
“I was seriously worried about you, Hailey,” Danny added.  
“I won't end up like mom,” Hailey answered quietly. “You should be worried about her, not about me.”  
Danny sighed. “You know mom... and dad.”  
Hailey was about to answer, but kept quiet.   
“You should go and see dad, you know that,” Danny added. “He'll be in surgery again tomorrow, it's still critical.”  
“You can't be serious.”  
“Hailey, he's your father,” Danny said insistently.  
“I'm sorry, but after last time I don't actually feel welcome,” Hailey answered.  
“You know how he is, Hailey. He doesn't mean that.”  
“Oh, you think?” Hailey could barely stop herself from snapping at her brother.  
“Hailey...”  
Jay had watched long enough, he decided. He softly put a hand on her arm. “You can think about it later, Hailey. And do what you think is right.” He looked at Danny. “It's Hailey's decision, she must do whatever she's comfortable with.”  
She wanted to protest against his interference, but a look into his eyes changed her mind. Jay didn't try to tell her what to do, he was nothing but supportive.  
“I'll think about it, Danny.” She took Jay's hand in hers, gave him a thankful nod. That was what she needed, who she needed. Jay squeezed her hand reassuringly.   
Holding hands, they went to Jay's car.   
“And now?” Jay asked.  
“I'd like to tell my mom. But we've got to go back to the office.”  
“Half an hour won't hurt, Hailey. Voight won't mind. Shall I call him?”  
“You coming with me?”  
“Of course, if you want me to.”

Hailey's parents didn't live far away from the restaurant, only a few minutes later Jay parked his truck in the driveway.   
Maria Upton saw them arrive; when they walked up the stairs, she stood in the open door already.  
“Hailey, are you okay?”   
Hailey briefly hugged her mother. “It's over, mom.”  
The three of them went inside, into the living room. “Coffee? Tea? Anything else? Are you hungry?”  
“No, thank you so much,” Jay refused the offer with a smile. “We don't want to cause any inconvenience. And we have to be back in the precinct soon.”  
“Mom, sit down,” Hailey quietly asked her mom, who seemed to be quite insecure how to treat her daughter and Jay. “We just wanted to let you know that everything is back to normal. We've got them.”  
“You did?” Maria reluctantly sat down in a chair, still looking from Jay to Hailey and back nervously.   
“Yes, they will not bother anybody again,” Jay confirmed. “We've got enough evidence to build a solid case. These guys will be off the streets for a long time.”  
“Good, that's good,” Maria sighed. “Just... Hailey... what about...”  
Hailey raised her eyebrows.  
“What's that bruise on your arm?”  
Hailey shook her head, noticing that Jay blushed, clearly embarrassed and uncomfortable. She briefly touched his hand.   
“That's because we were undercover, mom. It was safer to have both of us in the restaurant, and with Jay pretending to be my very controlling boyfriend, we had the perfect cover. Jay's not controlling... or violent.”  
“But...” Maria looked from one to the other.  
Hailey smiled, took Jay's hand. “Yes, he's my boyfriend. And my partner.”  
Maria nodded, not quite sure yet if Hailey had been honest. Jay didn't say anything, he knew it would take a while to gain her trust. But he would work on that, if Hailey decided to stay in contact with her mother.   
“Hailey, please visit your father, will you?”  
“Mom...” Hailey's eyes widened. “Are you serious? I mean, you're worried about me – and Jay, and yet you...”  
“Hailey, you don't understand...”  
Hailey looked at her mother with raised eyebrows. “I don't see much of a difference, you know that. You can still leave...”  
“No, Hailey, I can't,” Maria answered quietly. “Your father...”  
Hailey opened her mouth to protest, but Jay very cautiously interrupted her, noticing that she was getting anxious. That wouldn't help. “We're available, whenever you need help,” he calmly said. “Please think about it.”  
Maria chose to ignore Jay's words. “Hailey, please visit your father, he's going into surgery again tomorrow. I'll return to the hospital now.”  
Hailey shrugged, unable to give her mother a definitive answer. She was unable to understand how her mother could be so worried about her daughter, and at the same time not see her own situation, didn't even consider getting help. She should have left many years ago. But that was something Hailey would probably never understand. All she could do, and would do again in the future, was trying to help and be supportive, if wanted or required.

Back in the 21st precinct, Begnini was in one interrogation room, Gambino in the other. Voight was with Gambino, Adam and Kim with Begnini. After checking the observation rooms, Jay joined Voight, listening to the interrogation, while Hailey stayed behind with Kevin.   
Gambino wasn't willing to give away anything, he had called for a lawyer right away, confident he would be released within hours. But that wouldn't happen. Begnini was close to confessing everything, to give away all details and especially his father's involvement. Especially since Adam managed to convince him that his father had already thrown him under the bus, blaming him for the complete operation. That wasn't true, but Begnini didn't know that, and obviously he didn't trust his father very much anyway.  
The unit could confirm that the DiStefano sisters in fact had helped obtaining financial data of the businesses in Lake Forest, and with the gambling licenses. Anna DiStefano's sister was brought in by patrol the same day and placed in custody. The case was strong and there wasn't any doubt that everyone would stay behind bars for a significant time.

After the case was wrapped up, the unit gathered in their office.   
“Hailey, are you okay? Is your family okay?” Kim asked. “How about your father?”  
“I'm okay,” Hailey answered, exchanging a quick look with Jay. “Thanks to my partner. The family too. As for my father...” she shrugged. “We'll see.”  
“Hailey, you know we're all here for you, don't you?” Kevin added, noticing that Hailey wasn't comfortable with the questions. “Whatever you need.”  
“I know. Thanks, Kev. We'll manage.”  
Jay's eyes were resting on Hailey, he was ready to jump to her rescue as soon as he'd notice she needed him to.   
Casually Voight approached Hailey and Jay, who was sitting on Hailey's desk, as usual. He handed both of them papers.   
“Halstead, Upton, I need you two to complete these and give them back to me by Monday.”   
Both stared at their sergeant, caught by surprise.   
The HR forms.   
Jay grinned weakly. “Of course, Sarge.”  
The others pretended not to notice, but Hailey could see that Adam was grinning behind his computer screen. Okay – everyone knew. 

“Jay, would you...” Hailey started when they were on their way out.   
Jay looked at her with these soft puppy-dog eyes, sensing her insecurity.   
“Would you come with me to the hospital? See my father?”   
“Are you sure?” Jay took her hand in his.   
“No, but I think I need to do this.”  
“Of course I'll be there. Now?”  
“Before I change my mind.”  
He squeezed her hand reassuringly. “Let's go.”

Jay took her hand in his again when they entered the hospital. Hailey was uncomfortable, she didn't want to see her father, but she knew that she had to do this for herself. Not for her father, not for her mother or her brothers. For herself. Whatever had happened, she needed to see him before his surgery. Nobody knew if it would be successful, and if it wasn't successful, his chances weren't good.   
She let go of Jay's hand when they entered her father's room. Hailey entered first, Jay right behind her, ready to do whatever was required, and to show his support. Hailey's mom was sitting at her husband's bed, Nick Upton was awake.  
Maria Upton smiled at her daughter. “Come here, Hailey. Sit down with your father.”  
Reluctantly Hailey sat down on the chair her mother vacated. “Dad.”  
“Hailey.”  
“Are you okay, dad?” Hailey asked quietly, in a voice Jay barely recognized. He felt anger building up inside him. What had this man done to Hailey that she was so insecure, meek?  
Nick Upton grumbled something.  
“Dad, we got your attackers behind bars.”  
He didn't react.  
“They won't be out for a long time. The neighborhood is safe again.”  
“I heard there was a lot of damage in the restaurant.”  
Hailey frowned.  
“From when you and your friends fought with them. Will the city pay for it?”  
“What?” Hailey snapped.  
“Sir, there won't be any damage when you return,” Jay calmly assured him. “But the most important thing is that nobody else got hurt, and that this is over.”  
“And who are you?” Nick Upton said.  
“I'm Hailey's partner, Detective Halstead. We met a few days ago.”  
“But why are you here?”  
“Because I asked him to come, dad.”  
Nick Upton scoffed. “Haven't visited for years, and now you're hiding behind your boyfriend.”  
“Dad!” Hailey stood up. She couldn't do this. “Jay, let's go. I hope the surgery goes well. Mom, I'll call. Tell Danny I'll see him soon, please.”   
She turned towards the door and left before Jay could even react.   
Jay shook his head in disbelief.  
He quickly said good-bye to Hailey's mother without even looking at her father anymore, then followed her. Outside he looked around, but didn't see Hailey. Where was she? He ran through the hallway, to the elevators. Still no sign of Hailey.   
One elevator was on the way down; Jay didn't want to wait for the other one and took the stairs. When he was downstairs, he crossed the entrance hall, when he saw Hailey leave the hospital. He ran after her, and caught up in the parking lot. Hailey didn't look at him, she had her arms wrapped around herself, walked to Jay's truck without looking left or right, without acknowledging Jay's presence.   
Finally she stopped when she reached his truck, leaned against it. Slowly she lifted her head, looked at Jay with teary eyes. When he reached out to her, she evaded his touch.   
“I'll take you home.” Jay quietly said, opened the door for her and closed it when she sat down.  
Before he started the truck, Jay looked at Hailey. “It will be okay, hon.” His own words felt hollow, untrue.

They drove home in silence, and when Jay had stopped the truck, Hailey got out without looking back, walked to her front door automatically.   
Jay sighed and followed her. There was no way he would heave Hailey alone now.   
She had left the door open for him, but was already sitting at the kitchen counter, staring into space. Without hesitation, Jay pulled up another chair, sat down next to her, and took her into his arms, deliberately ignoring that she flinched.  
“Hailey, it's me,” he whispered, as he caressed her hair with one hand. “It's okay now. I'm here.”  
She didn't react at first, but didn't resist either.   
“It's okay, Hailey,” Jay repeated.   
“Jay,” Only now Hailey seemed to realize it was Jay holding her. “Why is he still so rude? Why does he treat me like this? I haven't done anything.”  
“I don't know, Hailey. It's who he is. It's not your fault.”  
“And why does it still get to me? I left home ages ago. I... I shouldn't let it bother me anymore. Why?”  
“Because he's your father. But he won't harm you anymore, I'm here.”  
“I know, Jay. I just hate being so weak. I hate it that I still cannot stand up to him. That's not me! And why, why did I suggest you play someone like him out of all people when we were undercover in the restaurant?”   
That last question had been lingering in her mind for a while. And she knew Jay was asking himself the same thing, even though he had never mentioned it.  
Jay didn't answer.   
“Jay, does something in me want to relive my parents' relationship?”  
“I don't think so,” he tentatively answered.   
“Then why?”  
“Perhaps...” he started.  
“Perhaps what?” Hailey answered, desperation in her voice. “I'm scared of myself, Jay.”  
“Perhaps you only suggested it because it was a good idea for the undercover operation? Because you're a great cop, and you use your personal experience, even if it's something bad.”  
“You don't think it's more? Some underlying wish for disaster?”  
“I don't know, Hailey,” Jay admitted. “If there is something more, then we'll figure it out, together. Or we could get professional help, if you want that. But somehow I don't think so. You are not your mother, and you aren't secretly looking for a relationship like your parents'.”  
“And you aren't my dad,” she added quietly. “You are everything he is not. I hope you're right about me, Jay. Because I love you, and I don't want to ruin this, us.”  
Jay didn't answer, he simply held her tight for a long time. He would do all he could to help Hailey recover, get over this. And give her his strength, until she found her own strength again.

Hailey's father recovered, as they found out the next day. However, Hailey decided to not visit him again for the moment. Perhaps one day she would feel ready to face him, to tell him what she thought of him. And if not – fine too. Not every rift could or should be overcome.  
She went to see her mother while her father was still in hospital, and her brother. These people were too important to her to let go again. Perhaps she would also reconcile with her older brother Mark when the time was right. But she needed to keep distance between herself and her father, it would do her no good to revive this toxic relationship. There was nothing and nobody that could force her to go back “home”, back to that place, to that person that hurt her and all of her family. No matter how her mother or her brothers handled the situation, Hailey's home was not with her father anymore. She was her own person, strong, self-confident, happy, and she was not alone. She wouldn't repeat her mother's life. She was with a man, who was different. Jay was absolutely trustworthy, he was a good person, the best person she had ever met.   
They went back to the restaurant several times over the next few days, made sure all damage caused by the operation would be removed, all broken furniture repaired or replaced. Hailey didn't want to give her father any reason to complain to the city.

One week later, Jay and Hailey went on their first official date. Pablo Ramirez had invited them to La Bodega for dinner, as a thank you. And while cops weren't technically allowed to accept such favors, this was different. Hailey had known Pablo for a long time, and she liked him a lot. He was a friend.   
So that Saturday night, Jay and Hailey dressed up and drove back to Lake Forest.   
Hailey wore an elegant, knee-long dark blue dress with a seductive low neckline, matching heels. Jay wore a dark gray suit with a light blue-ish shirt. Jay couldn't stop looking at his girlfriend, she was so beautiful, so strong, so amazing in every respect. He still couldn't believe she wanted to be with him. He was happy, for the first time in years he was genuinely happy. And he would do anything to make Hailey happy too.   
Since Hailey's father was still in the hospital, they had stopped by Hailey's mom, checked if everything was okay. Maria slowly opened up to Jay, began to trust him, after having met him several times in the restaurant over the last few days. She was still a bit suspicious, but less guarded.  
Maria looked at the two of them appreciatively when they arrived at her place.   
“You two look nice,” she said. “I miss seeing you dressed up, Hailey. With you it's mostly boots and denims.”  
“You know, mom, it's a bit difficult to chase a suspect if you wear a skirt and high heels,” Hailey laughed.   
“Well...” Jay grinned. “Your mom is right, though. You do look amazing in this dress. And I'm sure Voight would appreciate it too.”  
Hailey couldn't suppress a giggle. “Yeah, don't count on it, babe.”  
They spent a while with Maria, talked about the restaurant, the case, but not Hailey's father.   
It was not bad, but Hailey was relieved nevertheless when they had to leave for the restaurant. She always feared her mother would bring up her father, would try to convince her to “make up” with him. 

Now they were sitting in a comfortable corner booth in La Bodega, a candle on the table, good red wine and a tasty appetizer. Pablo Ramirez had just left their table after an animated conversation and a detailed explanation of the chef's recommendations. His relief was clearly visible, his whole demeanor was different from before; he was relaxed, funny, charming. Just like Hailey remembered him.  
Hailey couldn't take her eyes off Jay. He looked so handsome in his suit, with his stubbly beard, the neatly combed hair, the freckles and the smile, this smile he only had for her.   
“So, Voight's okay with us,” Jay said.  
“Surprised?”  
“A bit,” Jay admitted. “I haven't got exactly the best record in that respect.”  
“Neihter have I, but that's history, Jay.” Hailey smiled at him. “WE are different. We're working, even Voight sees it. And we're better as partners.”  
“Yes, we are working,” Jay agreed. “Better than I would have ever imagined.”  
“Thanks for being there for me, Jay,” Hailey said quietly. “I don't know how I'd manage without you.”  
“I know you would,” Jay answered. “Because you are strong. Stronger than anyone I know.”  
“Maybe,” Hailey grinned. “... but without you it wouldn't be half as much fun.”


End file.
